Sink

There is only one absolution, and that is penitence
for the guilt, the grief that fills your lungs after the shipwreck,
you clutch your chest and reach for the surface,
as each breath you take burns your throat, you sink;

eye for an eye, always at each other's throats,
we found adversaries in our rustic company,
but that would pass, and we reconciled without the effort,
eyes closed, running head first into the prime of our lives;

we laughed so hard and played our little pranks,
we entered adulthood smoking on the after-school cruises,
and connected the distant dots that had always intended to be,
we never looked back and never apologized to anyone,
and soon we graduated and went our own separate ways;

I will never know the scent of your very first flowers
or remember how you looked in your last suit,
I will never recall myself comforting dear Angelina,
and I never learned where you were buried.

there is only one absolution, and that is penitence
for the guilt, the grief that fills my lungs after the shipwreck,
I clutch my chest and reach for the surface,
as each breath I take burns my throat, I finally sink.