My Wings

I thought I saw you

Yesterday

It wasn't you

But still

I remembered

The first gift

You ever gave me

Was wings

Wings to lift me

Out of what held me down

To propel me

Through the stardust

Of long-forgotten galaxies

Universes

Parallel realities

Wings to take me

Far away

To elsewhere

To anywhere

But here

But now you're gone

I walk the earth

With bloodied feet

With useless wings

Whose feathers

Scatter on the wind

Around me

Floating away on the breeze

Like the memory of you

Slipping away

But

My mismatched smile

And wild, sparkling eyes

Tell another story

They speak quiet volumes

Of dusty tomes

In faraway libraries

They speak

Of a starfield

A whirlwind

A rush of new worlds

Of the shadow palace

Of the coral castle

Of wild, grassy plains

Of algid caves

Of cobblestone streets

That twist out of sight

All bought

With the priceless currency

Of your generosity

Your companionship

Your friendship

And quiet conversations

On sleepless nights

Opened the pages

Of past lives

Of family

Of twins

Times spent long ago

In the same

Quiet companionship

Distant memories danced

In our subconscious

And the stardust

Of our favourite galaxy

Placed us near that pond

Where by happenstance

We should meet

Even for

A short-lived connection

Before taking you away

Once more

But

Better to have lived once

Than not at all

Better that I

Should know you in this life

Even briefly

So I wear my broken wings

With honour

As a relic

A memory

Even if the wind

Rips them to shreds

Even if the pixie dust

And happy thoughts

That once lifted them

Has expired

Even if every feather

Falls to the earth

I will wear them

Because my brother

Gave them to me