Clocks in the Ark

There are times
Where I remember that I am breathing
And remember that you forgot

How night crept in
And took hold
Swelled your lungs
Halted your blood
Blocked your trachea

Realized
The doves were still out looking for land
You’d done too much
And not enough

(you started a chain reaction)

My mind tries to connect with yours
As I go two by two
Thinking how
Two by fours smashed you in the knee

Did you think to cry out
Were you numb
Poisoned, washed out, drying
As the mattress beneath became tired and choked

There are times
When the only color I can think is blue
Still, after all this time

The line smiling card-writers say heal
But do they realize
That images never wash away
They always creep upon you
Like the tides

Did you think to call
To ask
Or, was it better to fall overboard
Submerge
Than to admit the need
For a lifeboat

(i tried so hard
i didn't try enough)

There are times
And I will never fully comprehend
Why the rest of us are still aboard--
Breathing
And you, Noah, are not