To J- Poem by Cherie Mort

It's frustrating to be impassioned
You feel real when you do what you love, what you ache for
What keeps you up at night is this wonderful burn
Eyes sparkling and full of tears
I hear you speak; I see your words and my heart swells with pride
I have found something real in you, and it makes me burn
You pass your flaming torch to me now, to carry on my journey until I should inspire someone else
I try to thank you, but the sounds I make are muddled
As though I was speaking to you through a pool of water
I croak like a frog in the dust, my mandible rusted from long disuse
My bones squeak like a groaning oaken door, more audible than the words I try to express
But as I push them out of my mouth, the words fall to pieces like a broken plate
And all I am left saying are abstract sounds, too garbled for the human ear to comprehend
Thank you for your passion and your pride
They stoke the glowing embers of my soul