retro

a candle flickers
in a window
a picture
alive only by your half smile
surrounded by a wreath
like a crown
a memory rises
like smoke
from a cigarette stub
every now and then
when the children stop
yelling
or i find the time
somehow
to trace a life
by numbers
passing out judgments
like bible brochures
to brothers and sisters
but not by birth
the years divided
the thin line
that held us together
in the place of love
pride
and conversation.
slip away
unto the good night
after night
like santa
from a chimney
like love
when love is nothing
more than a word
slip away
like life
oh yes
because you know it doesw
you know it will
and then i will become you
finally
in the end