i remember staying up with you that heavy night br passing a bottle of raspberry wine back and forth br as we dragged ourselves thru a thick conversation br about prom night car crashes and brushes with death br you lazily took the last swig from the bottle br before you gazed out the window br i could have sworn you wanted to blame me br but instead you told me you were ready for bed br so i drunkenly hoisted you br out of your prisoner’s chair br and tossed you giggling onto the naked mattress br to lay down beside your ballerina's body and hold you br an injured bird trembling in my clumsy hands br br we manufactured feelings br that had been lost somewhere between br the horizon and that hotel room br you told me sensation was merely br a new memory but you still knew br how to please a man br the candle’s glow flickered and bounced br around the room to the rhythm of our breaths br as you lamented that br you would dance like that flame br if you still had use of your legsbr br Rev. Dr. A.