phantom artifice

pointed out brethren in dirt below
smile of sky
promise of searing pain
his love was true

all I could collect
were bits of crockery
ripped photos

should I have admitted
I’d follow beyond trail’s end
or
make great haste
with artifice and rhyme

walked another neighborhood
violet sky
phantom pain in searching hands
my love was fully realized

all I want
are moments of shared breath
huddled on one pillow