great wall

-jeffery mcnary

i felt ill
then i did not hear from you, again.

thank you,
this is what it will be without you.

here is the sadly ‘so right’,
where is the curse i want to design.

you would not recognize me today,
you would not understand,
you would wilt in the confusion of my name
which does not mean that much to you.

the tightly drawn dock lines snapped
as our sadly mixed vessel slipped,
then jerked, from its harbor
for the sea.

there are shadows now, upon the water,
remnant of my penchant for ship building.

there is ash and glow from the flame
which consumed them,
and pieces of the complex wall from the east

upon which you cling
and float along the current line
for the voyage home.