sobria ebrietas

“My Raven There once was a boy with the heart of a bird He loved, and lived, with light undeterred His mind was a maze of shadows and dust Of blood and wings, Of smiles and trust He gave his feathers to those he adored But was shunned, ripped apart, completely ignored He gave me a feather, despite all of this And I promised myself to be someone he’d miss This beautiful creature and his tenuous life Decided I was worth it, and loved me with might Delicate, dangerous, built like a blade His metal too brittle, it broke with a clave The world he was born into, was cruel to the bone Ugly and dark, he began to feel alone “What purpose does life give to something so small What use do I have in this earth of gall I am a poison, a drought, a drug most foul I deserve to die, I deserve to drown” His body revolted, and turned his brain Into questions and answers, a pain near insane It locked his limbs, and broke his mind It broke his love and burned his insides The nights grew long and the days were cold My raven, my darling, fell into a hole The darkness embraced him, and won’t let him go He’s become content with being alone Featherless, afraid, unable to care He’s caught in life’s unhelpful snare Away, Away! He says to his friends Away, Away! I can never love again! Leave me be, and let me stay In this dimly lit space, please go away. And yet I sit at the edge of this abyss Knowing he’s wrong, that his heart’s amiss I cannot forget the boy with his bird-like heart I need to show him what he showed me from the start We’re two sides of a coin, you and me I yell down to him, don’t you see? My feathers were gone, but I grew them anew Because when life screws you over, that’s what you do So I’ll stay as long as needed, to help and to heal Love’s not a lie, I cannot help what I feel With mud on my face, and my hand extended low I’ll stay as long as you need, until you’re ready to go And if you stay down here, then so will I Just remember that upward is an open sky Without the shadows in a world of light We’d all be blinded—a life without sight”