Bittersweet Poem by John Weber

All elements laugh as I cast a moan
While grieving for longings I've never known
The mantle of the earth shrugs at my pride
While isotopes titter, slow death inside
This funeral for my future with you
Reeks with discontent as I bid adieu

Food stings with bitterness upon my tongue
Air throttles like smoke while prickling my lung
Minstrel songs stab pointed shards in my ear
These memories taunt me to disappear
Stories in books only spur me to weep
For even fiction grants love that shall keep

Cowering beneath my shadowy self
As I despise those pictures on the shelf
With tremulous hands I sweep them away
Yet in these closed eyes the images play
Robbing my peace while murdering my rest
The toils of the ages press on my chest

Each passing stranger views me with contempt
They're clutching at faith while I prove exempt
Wedged someplace between mortal thrill and death
Brash snarling wraiths hope to garrote my breath
While plump cherubs urge my dull heart to stay
I don't know how I can go on this way

Within the vast recesses of my mind
Sprawls the grand notion of what I could find
If I reached out with an uncluttered soul
These howling specters would finish their stroll
As one ideal dream vanishes from sight
Numerous potentials pledge to invite

I only seize glimpses of your face now
No longer stowing that pain on your brow
Lockstep in union with your family
Those whispers inside preach a homily
While my sheer yearning may die abated
Goals are fulfilled to see you elated