"a song in six"

i.

children of the gentle low city lights sneak out to meet under the moon to dance on empty streets

she sings a song to step to and he swears the sun can't rise above the ocean tomorrow because he's holding on to it right now.

ii.

she wakes up on the violet ocean, on a boat over light waves. her eyes have more weight than the waters of the earth as she lets loose a tear. for the first time, she no longer sees the shores of vietnam.

he sits two thousand miles away, just over her head, on an airplane over the sea.

they both curse the war. she blames heaven, he blames man, she looks up, he looks down, their eyes don't meet.

iii.

their tiny hands meet on the shore of a beach. they are five years old, searching for the world on the dust on the floor. he looks for stones, she looks for shells, they both find a stone that looks like a shell.

"you can have it," she says.

her parents call her name and she runs off without saying bye.

he sighs, and puts the stone that looks like a shell to his ear and tries to listen for the ocean.

iv.

he never hears a hello but he still talks to the stars. hellos aren't needed among old friends.

she never hears a goodbye but she still speaks secrets into the small holes that she digs. she covers the holes up and wouldn't hear a goodbye anyway.

the strangers walk past each other on an empty street by the bay. hellos and goodbyes are exchanged but what are said in between are never heard.

v.

the earth swings against shy skies and he and she both trip and fall onto their backs. she laughs and he helps her up.

vi.

at a coffee shop around the corner, she sings, and he swears that it's so dark tonight because the moon is sitting inside, in front of him, with hot milk and honey.

she reads the poetry of pablo neruda. he reads the cliff notes to catcher in the rye. he doesn't know what to say. he contemplates the moon, the ocean, the stars, the stones, the shells, the skies... he stutters.

but she just takes his hand and whispers:

"i know you know this song."

dope song: bob marley's three little birds