Dust To Dust Poem by Max Dahlquist

The fading light painted your face
in colors that don't have names
but I kept my silence
because there was nothing I could say
that the sun couldn't say more eloquently

I sat beside you and hoped
that the arm around your shoulders
would never be enough
because if the day came
that I was everything you wanted
you would have no reason
to press tighter against me
because if that day came
when you no longer needed more
no longer needed me to struggle
no longer needed to pin our hearts to the wall
and skewer them with arrows
you and I could be stones
with names and numbers
side by side
flowers and wreaths
bones in the ground
or ashes in the sea
nothing.