Dying in Bars

I was wondering what it was like chasing stars the way you do

I had been wondering what it was like flying over Neptune and Jupiter

And laughing in God's presence the way you do.

You sparkle fiercely, the way a diamond cuts the skin, you burn.

Sitting three steps over and two leaps from your chair, I glanced and glanced

Hoping to find a way through the maze of drinks and slurred words

And too loud music and find a way to melt into you, to take your skin

And melt it into the dark corners of this stained bar-napkin night

So that I will never forget what it was like to know what flying felt like.

For ten minutes I felt what sulfur and kindle must feel when they meet

And for ten minutes I felt the splitting of planets and the lonely serenading of black holes to one another

And felt God in the small things: your lips, your skin, the way you clasp your hands.

For ten minutes I died.