Afterwinter

By Jay Sutton

 

I tap my foot in tandem

With the countdown of the days

Until I can see you. 

 

I can see your sister, 

A waxing figure 

So beautiful in the sky, 

Decorated with a canvas of stars

She reaches down and touches my face

And whispers a promise

Of afterwinter. 

 

I clip my nails in tandem

With the countdown of the days

Until I can see you. 

 

I can see your good friend

Within the crashing waves

Of a turbulent sea

Pounding her fists on the shores

She grips my hand, so desperate

And wails at the promise

Of afterwinter. 

 

I pull my hair out, strand by strand, in tandem

With the countdown of the days

Until I can see you. 

 

I can see me, in a mirror

Fragmented fractals 

Of a man that once was

I pull the skin off my face

And I want you to see me bleed,

Dying because of the promise 

Of afterwinter.