Absolution

We'll say our goodbyes, then,
We'll "share a drink and step outside"
Onto the streets where once we dwelled,
And tonight we'll laugh at our deaths.
Let us follow each other home once again,
Ignoring the dreams that seep in like a tide,
Under the skies where the angel first fell,
Onto the rooftops where we first drew breath.
And if, weeping, yet laughing with hope, I could send
My soul to the bus-station where I first died,
I would cling to the sound of the clock-tower bell
In summers afar when youth's spirit was left
Forsaken, abandoned, in the jubilant glen
Where the ghosts of old autumns surrender and hide-
To the newness of winter's ethereal shell-
Ere our failure we sought its cold soul, and were blessed.