J whiting, from our hearts we send thee

The best of us believed
If we hadn’t stumbled
We’d still have a chance
To pick up the pieces
But just as we’ve seen
The gust came too strong and it blew it away
And we know it’s not coming back
Now we’ve got to behave
Now you’ve got to rely on your own arms to drag you across
(can we forgive ourselves?)
The last straw to break your back
The last shock to break your gaze
The secret to break your legs

How long can we hold it
Above our heads?
How long could you used to?
We’ve all followed someone close to find
A reason to have followed
We’ve all hollowed out the tile floor
To keep safe what we couldn’t bear to lose
Take comfort in what no one else knew
And when you had stood barefoot
You noticed that it had come loose

And i said
It’s been a few days
Since i have seen you

And you said
Sorry but i’ve
Got too much on my mind

It got to be too much
We did our best to help
But our hands stuttered and slipped
And all that we could do
Was say we’re sorry

We hoped things would change
We’ve all spent the last year standing still
Balance and swallow
The lump in your throat
All your loose teeth
We lie awake
To see who’s coming
When we die

The rest of us believed
We would remember exactly how her face
Reflected the moonlight
But as we began to recall the details
The hair was a match, but the eyes, we couldn’t quite get them right
How the lashes were shaped
How they curved to the sky and arced away ashamed
(and the difference it made)
Is it better just to wait
If you’re coming back again?
Will we see it then?