Old Guns

[tectak]

You are my comfort now, your role has changed with me.
My protection seems now to be as inconsequential
as the death of a flower, the fall of a leaf, or the sound
of a gun after dark, in screaming Columbian streets.
You are by my side and that is all I can ask.
When I was young and stood, by my choice, tall as a tree
in a desert; visible, vulnerable and yet unafraid,
you were by my side. I never told you that you were my strength;
but I held you. I caressed you. I stripped you down
and put you together again. I knew you as well as blood.
One day, I told you, if I live too long, you will be my comfort.
tectak
2012