Last night was beautiful
fog-swallowed, rain-kissed
we got drunk on the balcony
and talked of Plank’s length
aliens and Dyson spheres, how
AI would crush us all some day.
I thought I knew you again
I thought I could tell you
what I saw one wintry night
the secret that beats its wings
against my bones
demanding recognition.
I thought I could tell you
we are not alone, maybe
it all makes sense somehow
we are meant to be here
just as they are
whoever they might be.
And that vast shadow I saw
bruising the starlit sky
black wings brushing the tips
of ragged clouds, obscuring
the moon, that shadow
is nothing to be afraid of.
Your hand touched my arm
jerked back, as if alarmed
as if I were a stranger, as if
we have not touched a thousand times,
so the moment passed and
the words within me died.
We went in and closed the blinds
closed ourselves off from the night
I did not dream of you, oh no
I have long since given up
bleeding hope and desire
on the vector of time.
I dreamed of them, shadows curving
bat-like over the CN Tower, closing
the distance between us too far
for light to travel, forcing us to live
again that small space, making us
unpredictable – almost, in love.