I put this darkness in the air....
        when shadows start, a changeling steps
        into my dearest dream.
                                 Roethke

Who is paying for your happiness?
That profound revolution
that spreads like wings
inside of your chest.
How easy it is for the world
to ignore a silent bird,
but what about the one
who never stops singing
from the topmost branch
of the tallest tree?
Toss me into the aging arms
of a grandfather clock.
Let the minutes pile like memories
inside of my mind.
Let the hours stretch like wrinkles
beneath my eyes.
I need to know that I am no one
and this is the only way to do it.
Does it matter in the end
all those thoughts you keep secret?
Hidden inside like little gems.
Of course it doesn't.
So why keep them?
For as you sleep I am stealing them.
And as you wake to a bright, new sun,
I am leaping over the hill top of your heart.
I don't ache for anything
but to pay for your uncertain happiness.
To crawl inside of your sullen mouth
and pull the corners up.

© 2005 Lisa Zaran  

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