Rhymes - 4. One Year

Time whispers in our ears

‘It’s been a year.’

The dirt road behind us stretches beyond sight

Green pastures faded to dirt.

All the hours, minutes, tears we’ve cried,

Holding charred remains of one worn shirt.

Words thrown down and ties broken by silence,

No gypsy in tents

Could’ve foreseen this path we’ve run down.

Carelessly flinging our hope into dried up wells,

We’ve tripped on pebbles and drowned in sand.

We laid sentences atop sentences

And rattled at the bars of our own cells.

There were late nights of desperation

And caution buried beneath honest lies:

Songs sung and tears clinging to reddened eyes.

We’ve discovered worth

In the comfort of another’s embrace

From half a world away

And darker nights stood further apart.

Et on riions

Pendant les nuits sombres.

Vous nous faisiez sourire

Quand on était en larmes.

On est content

Et vous nous avez éduqué

À vivre

Au moins de la tristesse.

The lessons accumulate like scars,

Running from flesh to bones,

Along memories and down our hands,

Dripping into the words we create.

They snarl maliciously

And whine pitifully.

They’ve stung and bitten

And chafed at open wounds.

All for the world to see.

Mais il faut y aller.

The tides beckon and call,

And choices twist and deceive.

Time will pass yet again

And after all we’ve received,

Perhaps another year will trickle by

And we’ll see more.