Keep it Together

Keep it Together

By: Courtney Beck

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How do we keep it together

When the ones we love go missing?

Their physical presence, surely.

But mostly, I’m afraid,

the idea of those we love.

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What do we do when those go

in the ground too

and we’re tired

and alone

and out of ideas…

.

.

.

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Hey! I have an idea.

Let’s take this table

stacked high with plans and papers

Let’s flip the whole thing over

Like a god-damn savior, in a temple

Let’s be confident and full of fury

Let’s start to deconstruct

.

I’ll snap pictures as the pieces fall

You’ll expose the film

We can work, together, to determine what to keep

Because I can’t keep it together anymore

And you aren’t keeping it together anymore

.

But I can sound the alarm for our Help

You can offer cover from the smoke

We can drop to the floor with our plans

and crawl out to the tree for safe keeping

.

The flames will die eventually

The smoke will clear eventually

I want you to hold my hand

I want to remember what we’ve loved

.

Because I cannot keep it together

And you cannot keep it together

But Maybe, together,

we can see what’s worth

keeping together.