Without You

A Poem by Eron Culver

We'll all have fun.

"We were different when we were young
You were different
We had fun"

Without you:
There he is, waiting for the beach, waiting to play
Feet in the gravel, wading in everything but salt water.
Testing his luck.

There she is, waiting for the city, standing in the alleyway
Head in the taxi cars, purse lost in the Metropolitan.
Here she remembered where she'd left her keys: balcony overlooking the ants.

There he is, not admitting it
Not to her, especially not to himself.
Blowing out the sea air, eyes scanning
Mind running, head hiding, heart hurting.
Can't stop moving, sold his soul not himself
So doped up, can't even see if it's right anymore.

There she is, wanting to die.
Totally in tears, totally in timeless ecstasy.
Heart on the edge of her own skyscraper,
Maybe one day somebody successful will take her place.
Regardless, she's here and now no one could take her back;
Back to that place where she was afraid.
Afraid of him taking her, taking her place.

There he is, watching a heart pinned to an obnoxious building.
It hurts but he won't fight her, woken and doped out
Maybe he doesn't want to have to worry any longer.
He didn't take her place, nor did she take his.
He sees: he needs his sand more than she needs him
It hurts but he won't fight her,
Cause now he totally wants to die.
But he couldn't be more free.

There they were,
Lungs tight, arms empty.
Lost, faceless, and free.
Hell is empty, but at least these demons kept them company.
Until they found hell, found their wounds.
Hell, all they found was the future.
Just left everything, and fell to their knees.

Now I can tell,
Now I can tell them.
Cause the he and the she already know,
Or at least their new lovers do, new old cities do, and jobs do.
But you and I won't tell them anything.
Please, just let them fill in the blanks on their own.
She'll paint the spaces with her city lights,
And he'll use the water to color the rest.

"Things are different, we're not young
We are different, though still having fun"