there is a rush

impending

cycling upward

i reach

crescendo!

oh rockets of light

tails of bright zig-zags

luminate the night skies.

waves of breath exited

drawn in, drawn out

of nose, of mouth, deep from depths

of weakened lung.

words dipped

in art’s bright, dazzling

color wheel

they dance on lips, these words

on tongue

like love’s juices

sweetness and honey

for the soul.

on the tips of pen & fingers

a simple joy

release

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

but the ride down

paralyzes

freezes words once fire-hot

into glaciers

slow moving, melting

icescape

plummeting

sinking further

into the stinking

benthic depths

my hand reaches up/out

grabbing for any

remnants that might remain

reaching for

any handfuls perhaps still lingering.

letters stick to fingers

eyelashes

errant word-flakes

as letters fade

melt

fading me

into silence