Keep Art Alive :: “Recognition” :: Art by Adam Hunter Caldwell

“Situations get fucked up,
and turned around,
sooner or later.
I could be another fool,
or an exception to the rule,
you tell me the morning after.”

The Morning After
by me

She thinks herself a fool
wrapping bed sheets around naked skin and tangled hair
watching him while he sleeps so soundly
counting the minutes backwards
until he wakes to find her

She contemplates her escape
taking stock of each piece strewn around the room
everything seemed clearer in the night’s disarray
the way he held her close as they circled and swayed
her face cradled in his open hands

She feels so cold now
eyes squinting in the stark light of morning
it would be so much easier just to go

His eyes open as she pulls away
heat on chilled skin as he pulls her to him
good morning mumbled into the nape of her neck
hardly even there at all
yet it feels like an answer

His weight on her own compress these early morning doubts
combined movement turning into a shared fluidity
like the rhythm of the ocean tides
connection dimming the harsh morning sun
if they could only just stay like this

He feels so warm now
eyes closed in an unsung melody
hoping he can keep her close a minute longer

Things look so different the morning after
yet they feel so much the same

Say Yes :: Elliott Smith