With Me a Little Longer by David Avila

With Me a Little Longer
By David Avila

he’s dead now
I spoke too much
I was too crazy
I said what should have been left silent
- stories told that don’t age well
speaking of aging he became very different
or so I’m told
he wasn’t the man from his youth
the wild rider
pedal to the metal foot on the gas
loud engine roaring
~a friend who’s seen far more of him
a man that knew when to get out
a window of chance opened
I do not weep for you until later
until I am alone
in public but alone
-and I weep
voraciously I weep
the song in my heart
the beating on my chest
a weeping and a waling that goes unanswered by those who are around
they remember the moments when I wasn’t there
~and the monsters were at the door
you sheltered me
gave me hope
and light
a lantern that I only spoke about once
that was not kept silent
I stole away with a story intact
and a life made whole
by a man that knows better than to drown
-the echoes of those lessons learned in silence
when there were no walls between me and what’s out there
you heard me oh so well and you kept me safe
and the stories I tell about you I do not hide
and you do not need to hide
just stay with me a little while longer