I walk the streets
where you used to live,
the city you thrived in
The city you fell in love with,
the city that set you free;
while at the same time crippling you -
taking away any sense of coherency
But, you, you were alright,
you were a shining star
you were on fire,
the pretty boy
with the moody green eyes,
the seductive faraway stare
You lived in the city
that pulled you over the edge
Submerging you into darkness,
driving you to cut deeper
until your art bled
into oblivion
Your creative energy dripped
like an intravenous
main lining junkie;
scores strewn across the floor
Your best work,
your brilliance blinds
The toll -
twenty years
of your precious life,
twenty years
of a collective genius
I walk the streets
where you used to live,
the city you played in,
wishing I had known you then -
The clubs that filled
with locals
1970-something
vagabonds
creative types;
the abstract overly talented
movers and shakers -
to the point of their own absurdity,
just to catch a glimpse
of your vibrancy -
bringing out the lacking
in their own luster
You were
one of a kind,
a rare find
Unique in a time
of originality
An artist to your core,
and yet between all the lines
praise, paranoia and deception
the purity of your soul
was lost on most
and stolen from you
before you understood
what it meant to have a life;
only to let life have you -
Twenty years you said,
twenty years and it had to end
There was joy in your eyes
as they took you away,
a sense of peace
We didn't realize
our last kiss
was an unknown
...farewell
Finally, twenty years lost
and finally you had it all
And in that finality,
in a moment,
in an instant,
you were gone...
I walk the streets
in the city you loved
I walk the streets of Tribeca,
imagine running into you -
Our eyes would meet,
on some magical level
there is a glimmer of recognition
You would smile only slightly
then turn away
I'd write my name
on a piece of paper
and slip it into your pocket
as you brush past -
looking back
knowing you will find it
and fall in love with me
...someday
© 2014 TrilbyYates
