CASABLANCA
7 billion people in the world
5 million gin joints
300,000 clichés
and you just happened
to become mine
Everyone always wants to know
the what, the how, the why
why, why, WHY
they ask over and over
I want to say
Have you ever seen the face of the man
on the dark side of the moon?
Have you ever swam so deep that
the ocean swallowed you completely?
Have you ever sung your secrets
to a mountain range covered in snow?
They'd say
No, but
what about the rest of the people?
What about the other gin joints?
What if you gave up on clichés?
Tell us what, tell us how, and why
why, why, WHY
Instead, I'd answer
Well, I have.
The man on the dark side of the moon
has eyes you can lose yourself in
and a smile that says
so much more than his brighter counterpart.
I have sat with him for hours now
to learn more than the sun
could even fathom.
And the undiscovered depths of the ocean
have angler fish whose lights look like rainbows.
You can't tell me sirens don't exist
if you've never traveled to the spot
where salt collects on the floor of the sea,
because trust me, they are down there,
wings clipped but voices sweet and strong.
And there is nothing like the feeling
of setting your pain and victory
to a melody and yelling it to the rocks and the sky,
letting the cold air scrape your lungs and throat
only to exit in a puff of white mist,
while your voice echoes off to the horizon,
the vibrations barely enough to wake
a snowflake from its slumber at the peak.
Return with your questions
only after you have felt the magnitude of the world.
I don't think you'll need to ask them any more.