Red Ribbon

Red Ribbon

I want more than anything
to write about you
but you do not exist here
where my soul sees
and I miss you

To use this language
is to exclude you
but the longer I remain silent
the uglier I become
tongue tied with curses
that I am loathe to speak aloud

The red ribbon I see when you sing
is knotted at your throat
strangling the song that would buy your passage here
This world, where all the strength of swords
is no match for cups and coins
Their conjuration is just wasted breath
indistinguishable from the wind

I want to meet you here
I want you to trust yourself enough
to walk across the water
but you keep trying to figure out how
instead of just knowing that you can

I love you
hear that as I pound upon my drum
(a cup with leather stretched across its top)
Do not mistake the sound
for the thundering footsteps of armies
You do not need to beat
your sword across your shield in reply
but lay them down to come and sing with me
matching your voice to the rhythm of the drum
draping your red ribbon across the sky