moonlight lanyard -
bruised but alive
thrumming heart ...
bloodied hand trembling
I measure the moon with my thumb
as I watch the long boat drift away downriver -
YOU are on it ... with the king's entourage
and I have lost you all over again
yes, I have my life, (though beaten to near death)
but I wish now I did not ...
for every breath finds you farther from me
heartstrings stretched to breaking
as the weeping moon shivers in the sky
its tears glistening on the back of the Great Mekong
like a mocking serpent ...
hissing its melancholy venom in my face
the wake of the ship pointing the way I MUST follow …
you will become but another of many wives to His Majesty
yet you are my world, complete
and there shall never be another …
this … is NOT done ...
I am too weak to move ... yet
but soon I SHALL pursue
to all of Earth's ends, if need be
and I shall keep my promise to you -
made under Heaven, in the gardens of the palace
and consummated amidst our passion
an internal moment that stands still in my mind
when, as one, we brought blush to the sky itself
for it had never seen a love as ours
divine and rare ... with truth and trust
and a joining that has never known another
pure, sacred, tender ...
and chaste unto itself and the stars
I know your gaze is on the very same moon -
that you bathe now in its weep
and THAT shall be our binding ... for now
until I rise and follow ...
and ride the mighty, twisted back of the Mekong
to find you, safe, and bring you home
my life ... my love.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Strand Choice 3 Any Theme Any Form" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
( For Sammi )
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