dear harvey dent

even dreams drenched in chivalry
can't save you from barren realities like being des(s)ert(ed)

the sugar overtones are just saccharine;
artificial hope eating cavities in the teeth you whistled between,
promising you'd be incorruptible

but we lost our ability to transform into forever the first time we kissed

your riversides were harmonies that sang of deltas like loose change,
but even your happiness sounded like broken guitar chords

coins jingled in your steps and
I wish I could have stored optimism in the blue moons you call eyes

the storm beat down on your temples like a migraine
created deities my lips worshiped as I tried to melt away your bitterness
and I for a moment, I could see God looking at me through the eyes of an atheist
because eternal forgiveness shone in your smile
as if I had served enough penance the last time I fell in love

but the rain washed the sandy flecks in your hair away;
eroded your river banks and made that furrowed forehead that angry tides dug into

and you built up your levees to protect yourself from people like me,
but honey, your heart lies at the mouth of the Mississippi
and nothing can stop the water from wearing down your willpower

because your soul loves like New Orleans,
collecting resentment in bowls and
fishing for wrongdoings in muddy waters
hoping your toes can sift through the silt to the bottom of things

and years from now, children will wade in the shallows
trailing reeds through my memories of you