Parallel Lines (Reincarnation) || Free Verse - Poetry
The first time you meet him
Well you can’t remember
After all you’ve grown up together since forever
And everything you own you share
He the one who showed you how to fish and hunt
How to catch falling stars and tie moonbeams in his red hair
And it’s that same night when you wrap your pinkies together
You vow to be together forever
But that promised appeared short lived
When he got mauled by a bear.
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
You’re cold and your hungry and you’ve been on the street for days
Spotting a man, and sure he’s not dressed to the nines
But it’s snowing and you'd prefer warm food and a bed just fine
Even if that bed’s in the arms of yet another man
And you really hope he’s looking for some company
Running your fingers down his arms, a smile on your face
And you whispers sweet nothings and ask to go back to his place
And he stills for a moment as if outright confused
Before realisation washes over and it looks as if he might refuse
And your face drops and he must have seen for he takes you by the hand
Leading you away and for the first time you notice
How the sun and the earth have bled into his robes
Oranges and browns mixed into one
You notice the bald head and the beads twisted around in his palm
And with shock and horror you realise what you’ve done
You pull back quickly but he holds on tight
So if he’s alright with it, you suppose you won't fight
He gives you what you expect and yet nothing like what you imagined
Food and a bed and a shelter for the night
Or possibly forever
As you stay on, a day a week or a month
You don’t believe in goodness, you don’t believe in love
But he shows you differently, and you begin to dream of a higher man above
But he is a man of faith and you, well, the devil’s daughter
So it is with a great sigh and possible tears in your eye
That you leave him without even saying goodbye.
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
Boom boom boom
goes the guns
Bullets flying overhead
Playing Russian Roulette except without the Russians
And you 'rock paper scissors' to see who of your mates will fire back
It’s you
Your head peeps out over the trench
Count yourself lucky your head hasn’t exploded yet
And you fire off one two three shots
Boom boom boom
It hits a boy and you see him fall
And he’s young, so young
Twelve thirteen fourteen who knows
It explodes in his face and sprinkles deadly dust over his arms and neck
And you barely have time to see him drop to his side
Before your friends are tugging you down
Congratulations on surviving man
But you can’t help but feel you just died.
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
An old man checks into a ‘hospital’
In a place that reeks of death
Hell on Earth wrapped in layers of ‘for the better good’
Designed to hide the truth
And the men and women who walk in walk blindfolded
And who knew words would be such an effective deterrent
Scare your old, scare your injured to a last place to lie
But not him, he’s different
And you remember because of his eyes
He’s not blindfolded like the rest of them
But in a way he is
You wave a hand in front of him and realise
He’s blind but all seeing
Aware of everything about him, yet his vision is obscured
Opposite, different, contrary to popular belief
He gives you a sad smile as you strap him in
looking at the J that might as well be branded on his skin
And the one thing you remember are blue eyes
That might have been Aryan had he tried.
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
His skin is darker than you’ve ever remembered it
If, you know, you could remember
And his hands are wide as dinner plates and rough as sandpaper
You can’t help but shiver
Despite pretty clothes and a clean shaven face
You can still see manacles and open wounds left to fester
And your parents tell you he’s a barely tamed monster
You hide your face in your mother’s skirts
And wipe your tears with your father’s tailcoat
Although you know that this is right, the norm, he’s nothing but a creature
You can’t help but feel as if there’s something deeper
As if there’s something inherently wrong
And as you hide away your face you fail to see
The look he gives you as he’s given away for free.
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
You meet again when he’s five and you’re thirty-two
And he throws a book at you
because of course that’s what any kid would do
That and because you’re kind of a stranger
And lurking
And suspiciously looking like a pedo
But that’s beside the point
You sit down beside him and explain
With all the maturity of a thirty-two going on nine year old man
That yes you’re a time traveller
No you haven’t seen a real dinosaur
And no there’s no secret society of Doctor Who’s
There’s just you
And sorry to be a disappointment but that’s how it works
(Okay he’s five, lying is fine, right?)
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
Married with three kids – what a beautiful family
But everything feels wrong wrong wrong
It’s your final thought when you go to sleep
And your first when you wake
You don’t know what it is
But it is
It’s there and it bothers you to no end
Like you're attached to something
A Siamese twin, a psychic bond
And it’s pulling you away
People are getting worried
To be honest you are too
An itch you can’t scratch
If you were to be clichéd
Which fits surprisingly well to be fair.
You read the eulogies for the first time in year
And you're not sure why, but one of the names bring a tear
Two ships passing in the night
One looked left and one looked right
8 o’clock morning rush
briefcase in hand
You’re going to be late
The train rings
doors closing
And you run for it
Someone else does too
Your feet sliding over the tiled floors
It’s a crash and a bang and you slip and fall
The man helps you up but your hands still like never before
And he has red hair and blue eyes and freckles blasted up his arm
And you can’t help but ask
“Have we met before?”
Two ships passing in the night
Both looked at each other and all was right.
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