Shades of winter haze
His breath freezes
Puddles of grief
In my eyes.
Time is running out, he says
Though he does not speak—
Hasn’t murmured a word in days
Breath rattles in his chest
A whispering creek flows into his lungs
Perhaps it was a rare planetary
Grouping, a mysterious meteor shower,
That caused him to make such a poor decision
Or desire
It happened in the land of sex
Without protection
A virus transmitted
A glorious life in degradation
He leaves behind
A skeletal body that can no
Longer contains his life
His creative soul is on a journey
To somewhere else
The river of life congeals in his body.
It is late when
the music of his
Breathing
stops
Leaving only memories of rivers
