I see you when I sleep,

A hand extended,

Ready to pull me into the sun,

Into the warm embrace

Of some heaven, somewhere.

I reach for you,

But you’re too far.

Your grasp,

Just out of reach,

Becoming more distant

With each frantic flail

Of my arms.

I leap for you

From a rooftop unfamiliar

Hoping for a stairway

To appear beneath my feet

And guide me into the light,

The place you now call

Home.

The magic of believing,

The whimsy of naivety,

Shatters against

The jagged pavement.

Still I would suffer

A thousand lives

As cruel as mine

To hold one final

Conversation with you,

To hold you close just

One more time.

Yet, your hand is just out of reach,

Your face just out of sight,

Your voice just out of earshot.

Through Hell I’d walk,

Barefoot and bleeding,

To find you again,

To see you again.

My last words to you

Were not the last words I intended,

And had I known what they would become,

I would’ve chosen more carefully.

I still see you when I sleep,

A hand extended,

Ready to pull me into the sun,

Into the warm embrace

Of some heaven, somewhere.

And one day I will make it,

I will clasp your hand

And throw myself into the light.

I’ll return your warmth

In an embrace,

Words softly spoken,

Exchanged if only

For one last time.

I’ll find my lost self

In the smiles I have missed,

And I’ll recount to you

The years,

The life that you have missed.

Until then

I’ll see you when I sleep,

Your hand extended,

Ready to pull me into the sun,

Into the warm embrace

Of some heaven, somewhere.

Politely,

I’ll decline.

I’ll reach eternity,

But only when

The time and place

Are right.