the funeral

hot wind
breathing heavy on my face
as it runs through my hair;
desperate to escape.

red sun
burning with forgotten feelings,
melting down toward the trees,
its color bleeding through the sky.

i am sitting on a hilltop
beside a lake
wearing the same dress i wore on our anniversary.

white lace and cotton
and just above my knee you can see it-
the stain where i spilled my drink
as you asked me to marry you.

my fingers reach to touch it
but never make it,
hovering over the dress
as if held by invisible strings.

i close my chocolate eyes
and taste the words we never said
as they dance slowly past my lips.

my mouth begins to water,
so i bite, savoring their flavor-
bittersweet, like dreams forgotten.

i touch my hand
and as the wind whispers its desperate pleas
i slip the ring off my ringer
and raise my arm in salute to the hot, red sun.

a scream escapes
and i watch, helpless,
as the ring is flung into the silvery waters
swallowed immediately by reflections of the sun.

finally,
the weight of a thousand summers is gone
and i can breathe smooth, sultry breaths again.

i stand, turning my back on the lake,
leaving you to sleep at the bottom,
a memory of what i cannot have,
and i never come back.