Open Wound

When I knelt alone
Beside your fresh grave
I could not make it real
My very bones were chilled
By what beneath was laid

Could that indeed be you
That form corrupting now
Who taught me right from wrong
Who was so smart and strong
Who held my hand in crowds

They say that with time grief is subdued
They say the lost live in memory's mesh
They say that with time the pall is less acute
They say that death is the way of all flesh

But I will preserve this awful pain
All the passing pale moons will bring no easement change
Nor weave silken amnesia on duration's mesmer loom
I will never let time heal this open wound

Now many months have passed
Since that keening day
When I stood in shock
Normality blocked
Without a word to say

And I am holding true
Just like you did in life
Every dawn and dusk
I welcome each new cut
From that still-sharp knife

Some say the wages of sin purchase headstones
And east of Eden the path is coffin strewn
Others say that life is a short-term cosmic loan
And to celebrate the evolution boon

But I will have none of that conciliating talk
They can do the bible twist or the Darwinian waltz
For me there is no understanding, nothing to presume
And I will never let time heal this open wound