Kevin Devine
"A Billion Bees"

i found you grieving in the grass
the sky bled water colored 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 you 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 loved
and all the people that we 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 chalkboard every time
til i watched your fingers sneak towards mine
i heard your breath go thin and short
i tucked your hair behind your ears
and watched your eyes dart back and forth
i sucked your lip and bit your neck
the trees were shaking at their roots
my angry arms fell cool and calm
and my cotton mouth was well with you
so we lay glowing in the grass
to watch the sun swamp with the moon
to trade our future for our past
the present tense was all we knew