Cryogenic

by Joey - Taurus

There was springtime,
flashlight tag on a foggy April night
among the junipers and forget-me-nots.
Two of us, greased black overalls and honeydew frock
galloping through the cockleburs and the tumbleweed
throwing beams of hazy white across the shadows
as if they had the power to freeze.
I found you by the rope swing
you giggled slyly through your blonde hair
fumbling wildly through the flowers
screaming "ollyollyoxenfree".
I tagged you in the meadow
and you tripped I tripped we tumbled
through the brush-tips of the foxtails;
it was there you kissed my cheek.

There was summer,
skinny-dipping Trapper's Lake
a sweaty, gnat-filled August night.
Cold cloudy water laced with waves of moon
glued blonde trails about your face.
Splashfights in the marshy shallows,
Gleaming water traced your skin.
Your silhouetted, naked body
sloshing through my cannonade
newly bulged in secret places.
We touched, by chance or imprecision,
you stopped I stopped we looked away.
Just drippings off our shaking parts,
crickets far beyond the shore,
a chattering of nervous teeth,
a starlit sheet and nothing more.
You slowly turned, I turned around
I raised my eyes; they found your skin
found your scared eyes, your trembling lip
and other trembles left unhid.
I reached my hand across the dark
you took it, timid, to your budding breast.
Soft flesh creased beneath my fingers.
We stood there for the longest time.

There was autumn,
strolls through reds, through browns and yellow ochres,
amongst trees which bared themselves of leaves
as your head bared itself of its inimitable blonde tress,
rustling, crunching along a chilly Halloween.
Superman and Cleopatra
hand in hand and house to house
we'd trick-or-treat and pretend.
You'd say that the trees were still green
and the Spring never dies
and that the red that I see
comes from the Death in my eyes.
You said you were Cleopatra because
in Egypt life never ends
and if life never ends you can't ever lose
people, or friendships, or love.
With a mascara-dyed tear you said
Superman didn't live forever,
Even Superman died.
I took off my "S"
wrapped my cape around you.

There was winter,
toboggans on a New Year's Eve.
Two wild tracks through heaps of virgin snow
we sledded over Chapel Hill
in parka green and ski suit blue.
We flipped over the Children's Boulder,
landed sprawled upon our backs.
You threw snow upon my face,
red-hot needles scalded every exposed pore.
Wide open eyes I glared at you
said, "I'm Cryo-man! I feel no pain!"
chased after you with balled-up snow
stamping and sloshing towards you.
You giggled madly all the way
to the frozen shore of Trapper's Lake.
Silence, only wisps of northern winds
as you stared at the frozen lake at our spot.
You pale face and bald head hung low
as you gazed blankly at a memory.
I said that I'd changed from Superman to Cryo-man
because Cryo-man's ability
is making people live forever.
You turned your head and looked at me
with your bloodshot, raccoon eyes
your pink lips curved weakly at me
you turned back to stare at the summertime.
I whispered in your ear
"You can live forever."

I closed my eyes and nudged you
into the cryogenic water.

Reason for writing:

    I like to write.    

Birth sign: Taurus
Date created: 1999-10-06 17:17:54
Last updated: 2021-04-14 17:18:09
Poem ID: 53447

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