You sing to me in the winter of ‘94
This blazing voice in the arctic outbreak
Amidst sub-zero temps and concrete samples,
You tell me of the cold and the blood stains
While you remind me I’m lost
I meet you in the art room
Exchanging poems with the princess with the long curly hair
A cassette playing “Jerusalem”
This howl against the walls
Hovering above combat boots and ripped jeans
A renegade like me
I dance with you in the repercussions
Midnight’s madness
Chicago alleyways and CRX speakers
Medusa’s Loreleis
Shaking to syncopated lights
You persist on the radio about the emperor’s new clothes
And you preach on music TV about a love taken away
But I pick out another lyric set to another melody
Telling me I’m not like I was before
Telling me that nothing will change me
And in the hollow heat
The aftermath
There is a “Fire on Babylon”
This haunt in the harmony
Tells me “It’s All Good”
This shimmer in the melody
Says this “Love is Ours”
In the space between so long ago and ever afterwards
You serenade me to the black fading moon
A Phoenix from the flame
And so far gone
It’s just like you said it would be