prison
written 8 March 2007 copyright © 2007-present James Sanghyun Han (a.k.a. steal this and DIE)
| he stood fully submerged in the subtle layer after sunset and before stars one leg planted on the curb like a lamppost one leg hanging over the edge like a scarf the simplest thing but to my exhausted eyes he seemed to be floating conquering the weight of the dying light with an intrinsic obliviousness and this is how i survive my days filtering reality's constant siege through illusions of grandeur sinking down to the depths of the dream world where sweetness is ominous where smiles reveal fangs where flight is possible but still erratic where seawater becomes gem-like and breathable where sex is always too good and too short where fields of grass are littered with body parts where one's shame is advertised in large, scarlet letters where the love of your life is visible but maddeningly out of reach where you aren't sure if it's good for you to remain or flee and from these inexplicable depths i look up to the surface up through the moist, mutable prism the translucent prison where i've made refuge and i observe the siege as it distorts stretching and heaving on the interface of water and air and as he stood there fully submerged i raised myself out of the lake, waded past him and found his eyes he was young enough that i felt my age but old enough to keep my guilt at bay and it was the simplest thing but the bloom of his lips cascaded through my body retarding the desiccation of my dormant heart with a surge of blood and promise and this is how i survive my days filtering reality's constant siege through illusions of grandeur his eyes were repulsively vacant but his mouth begged invasion and i wanted to sink with him down to the depths of the dream world safe from the siege where refuge is translucent where sweetness is ominous where it's always too good and too short where flight is possible but maddeningly out of reach where seawater becomes gem-like and breathable where you aren't sure if it's good for you to remain or flee where everything distorts and heaves under a moist, mutable prism and where the simplest things conquer the weight of the dying light and everything seems to be floating |