clog arteries
invade the mind
absorb all attention
feed the
I

...catch your breath
inhaled like your last
thought
a feeling
caught
in words

a stream of living cameos
until your
death

a fallen
rose

can't you believe in me
and stand by my side
trust my judgement
and show some respect
sure challenge and warn
but don't push me aside
when I hit a wall

cause it seems to be those
times when I need you the most
that you stick in the knife
leave me and boast
of your own prowess

yes,
it'll be hard to trust you again
but another day will no doubt come
when smarting pride heals
and friendship returns
as we come to terms yet again
with our own humanness

now but not
always the case
fallen from grace
basket case more likely

yet after it all
each round, each fall
seems somehow to pan out
and flouting the odds
turn out alright

and what the key?
surely not me
but some kind of desperate
unshakeable faith
that somehow
attracts a higher grace
that respecting the weak
gives leg up to
those the world freaks
out at
disposing of quietly
turning away
with nothing said

its those who stand in good
stead
with some deeper, wider
older wisdom
that doesn't respect schism
between rich and poor

but rather's a power
standing in wait
at each poor heart's door