Lakes, Rivers 

Highways and Dirt roads 

till I reach you

–

Her love was a battlefield 

Running through Landmines

Just trying to make it safely 

From one trench 

To the next 

I got tactics 

Buried the important things 

In the lake 

I knew there would be a long winter 

And the ice would keep them safe 

You need to shapeshift 

You need to be ready

Because the enemy takes many forms 

Sometimes they even fly your flag 

But you gotta be smarter than that

Work harder than that 

–

Send it 

Flung through the darkness

Spinning

Slicing the night air

Catch it 

The postcard

From a different postcode

Read it

Under the blanket 

With a torch 

Memorise it 

Before they come

Before they see 

Set it on fire before they find it 

–

Sometimes the postcards were made of smoke

Ephemeral particles coming together in colour

For long enough 

For me to see 

To breathe them in

By the time I breathed them out

They were carried off in pieces like a dandelion puff 

Dissipating in the wind 

–

So I play on 

Riding in cars with boys

Meeting dealers on corners 

Jumping off the overpass 

Running head on 

Into traffic 

Diving into angry oceans

Seeing what will leave a mark

Seeing if I can leave a trace 

There are no markings on these dirt roads 

Im not sure how you found me 

Just that you did 

–

Time after time 

When I thought I was gone 

Said is this it 

I rolled over 

a mouthful of blood and dirt 

Defeated 

Those postcards shone into the night sky 

Like a search light 

Is this all you’ve got

I think not 

–

Chasing hope

Dreaming of tomorrow 

Playing that long range 

Praying that close combat

Is something I can leave here 

Can I leave her here 

With her decoys 

They don’t look much like me 

But she tells stories about them 

Gives them a life of their own

I want a life of my own 

–

Soon I’ll go back to the lake

To get the postcards 

From different postcodes 

–

( I’m still catching them, still sending them )