bound in time

we are bound
within years
no matter if
by velvet cords
or rusty chains
days drain like
drama down the
sinkhole
leaving us
strangled &
breathless
at bottom
looking up at
dying light
with fading eyes
hoping for
another beat of
blood to breed
one last
memory
a passport to
carry beyond
oblivion
into the realm
where nothing
matters
and the days
are all
the same
long long
and
dark

Jim Chandler

February, 2000 issue