I could go there

He was something like an emperor

Something like a hero

He chose a path; he was destroyed

He was something like a friend

It's lurking, a cleaner world

A neater world, sparse and silent

It's waiting to pounce

Pain measures the distance you travel

A single incision after a pitched chase

A moment's shuddering; release

Or die for days after falling

Terrible infinite surfaceless seconds

I wish I could use his remains

like the man in 'Rogue Male'

Make a weapon, fight the killer

Vengeance, a vain chance

I wish I could freeze that frame

I wish I could hold those seconds

Or days in my mouth

Feel cold salt dissolve on my tongue

It's a neater, cleaner place

Sparse, silent and free from despair

I could go there and be with you

If I only had the measure of pain