Kevin Devine Follow

i found you grieving in the grass
the sky bled water colored blue
you seemed so simple sure and sad
so i sat down to grieve with you

you raised your hand to shield your eyes
i shifted left to block the sun
you crossed your legs and cleared your throat
i waited for your words to come

but they slept soundly in your chest
they never made it past your tongue
so we sat silently and still
and thought about things we'd done

and all the people that we'd loved
and all the people that we'd wronged
i watched the years flash through your face
and i locked my anger in my lungs
so every breath stung more and more
a wave of whips across my spine
a billion bees trapped in my chest
nails on a chalkboard every time

'til i watched your fingers sneak towards mine
i heard your breath go thin and short
i tucked your hair behind you ears
and i watched your eyes dart back and forth
and i sucked your lip and bit your neck
the trees were shaking at their roots
my angry arms felt cool and calm
and my cotton mouth was wet with you
so we lay glowing in the grass
to watch the sun swap with the moon
to trade our future for our past
the present tense was all we knew