you said to paint so I "to paint"

the sky's throat
throttled by a pink silken shroud
we give chase through the clouds
as our knees crackle on the carpet below,
our noses bleed
with the changes in
altitude

and what's below is certainly
not as soft
as what's above

but sky chokes
nonetheless
as we
overcome our sense of
gravity

our responsibility
to it

take the still frame of this fall
suffocate
in leaden air and meet
hard ground
with the tips of our toes
as our silken noose
tightens
its hold
around our airways

he always said there was too much sky for its own good
but what is sky but breathing, thumping, crackling, racing canvas
poised to pit any creature against itself
be it turtle turtle or hare hare or turtle hare or hare

sky canvas
ready to swallow and smother our fall

we're sitting on this bench
in the painted pottery section
waiting for our next stab at jury duty
waiting for the love of our lives to find us
as we contemplate

sky

stretch me-------------------------
stretch us--------------------------

stretch our time back into antiquity

the face is usually the first to drop
maybe the right foot

but arms
our arms
always reaching to be wings
as we dangle from canvas and thread