Atticus Before He Burned A Stork

he had so much joy in him that he could not contain it

so he went looking for other bodies

he said, look, i shake

my core, it trepidates!

touch it, my friend, touch it!

when i did, i heard this zap

this tap this flap from his bac-

shh!

he winked at me, i think

then left

but i never saw him walk away

bombarded me with messages sent via dove,

i stirred to thousands of birds

tapping outside my window,

they all flew in at once singing of love

they said, i hear you i know you i see you

oh, you

everyone in town got heated that morning,

shouted at me to keep quiet!

and here he offered his love with his eyes and his ears

his mouth never spoke, it only sang

he said azra, don't walk, dance

so people came and went,

they gathered round his main cell like animals in a desert Oasis,

mingling around him,

dangling, dangling

drinking from that source of sparkling liquid

and then that great gush of water sprinkled, sizzled

until it was no longer

this boy our entire little town had come to know

changed

he had the body, to be sure

the face, too!

but he gave so much that one day

he stopped feeling

now no matter what he did he could not feel!

and that's just the way it was!

he doesn't know where it went

he just sits in silence

smiling without feeling

crying without weeping

sleeping without

sleeping