The Monument

Looking still. Not settling, of course.

The people moved and came and left

They scratched their feet and sat and walked

They ate and slept and wandered around

They moved and moved but made no sound

No footprints on dusty floors

No fingerprints on wooden doors

They lived together so far alone

At the table with their parents and children

As the candle burned to a waxy puddle

As the seasons changed the light inside

He left one day without a trace

Tables full of letters unread

Ink that dries and flowers that die

Books that turn and smoke that forms

Across the buildings and into the ground

Seeping below the people

As they sleep in the quiet nights

He sat and waited and walked and walked

And he watched it all passing by

Birds that sleep in the shade

Butterflies that fly high at dusk

Wolves that drink from rivers

Deers that drink from ponds

The trees that whisper and those that don’t

The bugs that crawl and the mud that forms

Building up across the sky

As he lays in the grass

Watching the plants grow at their root

As the water drips from their leaves

As the sun dips below the green sea

And it all lifts back up

And it all fills back up

As he walks more

As he finds more

And he leaves a part of him to it all

The breath of himself

Palpable into the trees

As it grows and stops and hangs above

As it rises and beams and shows it all

He disappeared without a trace

Snow drifts on down the street

Tire marks burnt at their feet

People huddle by the fire

The sky comes down outside

One wanders out into the cold

And deeper still finding more

The frozen lakes and frozen ponds

Rivers of ice that flows

He walks and walks

Looking for more

The snow that builds up

The trees that reach up

Hidden in the trees

The thing that reaches high

Unknowable

Unformable

And to study it was to be a chase

But something was there

Something was found

Long ago

Something was made

He got closer and saw less

So he viewed it as one

Coming through inside

That reaches into the sky

That makes the plants grow

That makes the seasons change

That makes the snow melt

That makes the world turn

That makes it all

That keeps it one

That keeps it inside

That keeps it true

He returned to the people

And slept at night like always

He continued on

The world turned on

The people moved still

The rivers flowed still

And he knew what it was

Author's Note

does the monument have a boyfriend?