Altar

The fall colors came the same in 2013 As any other year that we had ever seen But the entire town felt like an altar then Those nights were spent Digesting the ashes of a dead friend Putting barricades in place Cultivating contradictions Drinking whispers And everybody knew, without even speaking Before it happens, you recognize a pattern My skin stayed soft like cake The roads were unpaved And no one was actually saved at all But every attempt was made to hold onto that dislocatingmagic And the sadness flattened every last thing In a lasting, manic gush There wasn't much I could have said or done Short of upending the afterworld completely Walking through those days like a rabbit in a minefield You can’t feel the damage 'til after it happens Everybody knew without even speaking It was wordless leaf fire smoke Murderous green bile choke And a sick, sullen floating The fall colors came again And a pair of plastic fangs joined some dreams in the drain They told me, "better days are on their way." Uh-huh The fall colors came containing unnameable flames It's amazing that everybody stayed exactly the same Standing in the center at the altar