Poem

Sing to me of artists
Of poets and dreamers
Who live life out loud
And overcome their fears

Sing to me of lives fully lived
Give me their ecstasy
Show me their courage
I will dream I too might be

Sing to me of adversity overcome
Show me the garden in late summer
Don't spare the happily ever after
Show me you believe in forever

The blood on my hands is fresh
I search my body for the source
No abrasions, no cuts, no soars,
I am as I was before

I notice the song has stopped
The singer nowhere to be found
Why doesn't he stay and sing
Stay and calm me down

I need his songs of springtime
Of lovers in full bloom
Get my mind out of this place
Out of this dark room

A voice breaks the stillness
Forced, hushed, and low
The singer staring up at me
His life spilling on the floor

I hold him in that moment
Whispering comfort to his pain
And realize I have killed him
Forcing him to do the same