[ i can’t ]

i can float along with ease
the wind knows how i move.
i can serenade you with a song
in any chord i choose.
i can write you an ornate poem
with words that bend and curve.
i can use my mind to make
our simple seem absurd.
but i can’t seem to change my course
don’t want a wayward lead,
my somber path goes on and on
with no room for reprieve.

i can see colour spilling
out of your pretty mouth
colours laden with the sullen
shadows of our doubt.
i can creep into your skin
and keep my secrets safe.
i can drift back into
bed and make this go away,
but you are there and in his place
nothing i can do or say.
please get up and make the bed
and cover our mistakes.
why can’t i make an elephant
ever forget his name?
don’t want to let this sunny sky
rain down on me today.
so i’ll keep shuffling down my path
into my own decay.
i can’t seem to find the notes
to sing my own refrain.
and i can’t seem to merge with you
i crave your winning lead
so i will keep on trailing you
until you can set me free.