Chip Away

Chip Away

written by: Ian Perlman (prikcab)

 

a life set afire
embers burning
faster than tears
tears I wish I’d jarred
but now falling
disappearing into the earth
days will outlast the flames
as floating chords from your guitar
pluck at my heart

I may be lost
yet I’m lacking worry
with getting back anytime soon
I’ll take the long way
even with no clear path
best laid plans had not considered this pain
calling for a pause
stars hang in the lonesome valley
watching over all the love

time is set upon the expected
on time each day
trains leave the station
this feeling is brand new
cold and enormous
and fear is not far from home
tones I am hearing underwater
are clear to me now
as I have drown many times before

I’m still watching you sleep
in unsettled darkness
where the candle no longer burns
all portions of us will eventually be buried
unforgotten
carved in the trunk of my soul
forever
unfamiliar eyes flashed goodbye long ago
bones were all that remained

the road ahead
is far too wide for just one
it has become a chore to stay on track
in all this space
lonelier than this it’s never been
watching shadows creep in
thinking it’s way too early to be this dark
looking over my shoulder
the horizon strangles the sun

when my time in the sun arrives
will there be anyone around
the audience matter does not matter
reckoning is suited for one
I was trying to listen close
when words would not come
the screaming silence is painful to the heart
invisible to the lonely
heroes often walk alone

before you were born
there was no you and me
without the balance
I can’t recall how I walked back then
unsteady but calm
from destiny unscripted
touch now lies lies forever elusive
this too was written
in later chapters

walking without words
can get me lost in infinite thoughts
high time to realize
the songs inside my head
are not the life I’m living
words have become my companions
often lonely, but not alone
change will pose frequent questions
of what was meant to be

searching for sleep
in a bed too big
I’ve been wearing a path in the night
the moon as my witness
pushing the pen across the page
in hours with no beginning or end
translating the quiet takes some time
patience comes with a price
on the path to peace

her words were song
melting over me
my eyes locked to keep pace
with her hands tracing down my chest
her presence filled my glass
before I could reach bottom
everything she was
keeps pulling me along
doing the best I can