That Burden, that Burden

I still don’t know what you meant to me after all these years

You stick to my consciousness, bolstering my fears

The past shines in in shades of cliched remembrance

That time our cheeks brushed in the summer, against the fence

You stand in a rogue’s gallery of loves lost but not in vain

We taught each other our own rules of an unknown game

It was raw and unfeeling, utter joy and deep, deep shame

How close we got to the heavens, how close to hell’s flames

It’s not for me to judge your ashes, nor do I want that burden

The stains and memories we birthed and bore together

The emptinesses we filled and failed to keep full

It’s not for me to judge your remains, but I do bear that burden