Red leaves and autumn winds

And surely I am bleeding, your words are sharp,

They cut me to the bone, they peel back the skin

And muscle and leave only a skeleton

Of feelings. 

The vultures gather, and hover, circling lazily

Around and around, black against a

Steel grey sky that is crying,
And I bleed.
Yes, I can see the stars, they flash

Bright, but so far away, between the slowly

Beating vulture wings that mark time
Until I die.
I could have held tight, held onto love,

Instead I opened my arms, and it flew,
Away, into the sky to mock me from the height,

Me, below.

And so I beg that the knife be blunted and put aside,

That the razor of your criticism be sheathed,
And the gathering of vultures placated

With another sacrifice.

(c) 2ndwitch, 24/01/14
(With thanks to Willy Porter whose song 'Breathe" was the inspiration for this poem, http://www.willyporter.com)