Testo A billion bees. Kevin Devine

A billion bees.

i found you grieving in the grass.
the sky bled water color blue.
you seemed so simple, sure, and sad.
so i sat down to grieve with you.
you raised your hand to shield your eyes.
i shifted left to block the sun.
you crossed your legs and cleared your throat.
i waited for your words to come.
but they slept soundly in your chest.
they never made it past your tongue.
so we sat silently and still and thought about the things we'd done and all the people that we'd loved and all the people that we'd wronged.
i watched the years flash through your face and i locked my anger in my lungs, so every breath stung more and more.
a wave of whips across my spine, a billion bees trapped in my chest, nails on a chalkboard everytime.
'til i watched your fingers sneak towards mine.
i heard your breath go thin and short.
i tucked your hair behind your ears and i watched your eyes dart back and forth.
and i sucked your lip and bit your neck.
the trees were shaking at their roots.
my angry arms felt cool and calm and my cotton mouth was wet with you.
so we laid glowing in the grass to watch the sun swap with the moon.
to trade our future for our past.
the present tense was all we knew.