Jason

Shades of winter haze

His breath freezes 

Puddles of grief 

In my eyes.

Time is running out, he says

Though he does not speak—

Hasn’t murmured a word in days

Breath rattles in his chest

A whispering creek flows into his lungs

Perhaps it was a rare planetary

Grouping, a mysterious meteor shower,

That caused him to make such a poor decision

Or desire

It happened in the land of sex

Without protection

A virus transmitted

A glorious life in degradation

He leaves behind 

A skeletal body that can no

Longer contains his life

His creative soul is on a journey

To somewhere else

The river of life congeals in his body.

It is late when 

the music of his

Breathing 

stops

Leaving only memories of rivers