Katie Hampton

to be wise

to grow

into someone who no longer cares

what a man thinks

I dream of feeling

the sun on my face 

instead of

the tears on my cheeks 

every time a child says

they are eight

I whisper a small prayer

they will live to be nine

I miss you 

like you are dead 

I mourn you 

while you lay 

beside me 

I miss you 

like I am dead 

all I hear 

is your heartbeat 

in my mind 

your voice 

in my bones 

and feel the sun

the world

is alive

I

am alive

yours and mine 

on each property sat a well 

every day

you drank from mine 

because yours

was empty 

the years went by 

and my well ran dry

you packed up 

went home 

and when I came to you 

with a ladle 

you built a wall 

but the words get tangled up 

all I know 

is that when I reach into the darkness

I think of your hand in mine