A PROJECTION OF TWILIGHT

Up on the hill, I sit with you here; quietly in stillness
The same way we have spent most of the journey to this point
You have been patient and wondering at my failure to be organised
And me, frustrated and angry at your inability to do everything at once

It is dusk; clearing up time; the gathering has departed
And the furious energy of the party has left us quite mute
And tone deaf, of course, to the general business of the world

We have lifted each other
And dropped each other

We have cleaned each other
And sullied each other

We have been excited together
And hopelessly bored together

We have grown together
And been apart ... together

There is something quite strong about the way we have lived together

Somethingbattle-fought-and-wonabout the middle ground we stood upon
Nothing asked for, nothing given, nothing taken
We looked to each other, when times were dark
Held each other in tight embrace as we paid for the things that we have
When the safety net was ripped from beneath our suspended forms
We grabbed the nearest trapeze bar and swung wildly until we found a place to jump carefully
Nothing has been free, not even the sofas we so rarely sit on, nor the candles we hardly ever light
Or the TV westandto watch occasionally; the speakers are blown and rattling
The gravelled driveway became worn and bare, but still we find places for rust bucket cars
Shovelling the stones back from the sides, where youthful wheel spins have pushed it all out
Under the carpet; out of sight; away from mind

There are spin offs that we consider wholeheartedly
Yet, their need of our nourishing skills has changed lately
Planning has become a beast of the past; observing the decay is the future
The to-do list is relegated to the bottom drawer
And the place where we sit may well carry the markers of our final beds

Is this what it will be like?
Is it just a knowing silence?

As we creep towards the evening of our lives, we areoneon opposite sides of the wall
It has certainly been a task, a struggle and sometimes, even a joy
The assistance and hindrance we have given each other resulted in this simple moment
What can we do now?
But hold each other’s hands ... and breathe


SRWB 2010