If I were yours to keep,
you’d have me in a
gilded case, with a large
brass key dangling gingerly
from your belt loop.
But I am miles
out of touch with you,
in the land of bones and ashes,
and the lid of your case is
chastened with dust;
scarred by passing time
and by disuse.
Am I free?
Does your mind
still roam to me?
My heart pleads to you, “Find me!
I lie amid the ruins
of an epoch
that may yet exist.
Return!”
By what light shall I search
but by the glint of sunbeam
off a small, brass key.
Do you still carry
such a candle?
Oh, let it be so!
Matthew Ratz is an author and performer living in Gaithersburg, MD. His poetry has appeared online in Bourgeon as well as on Huffington Post; his essays have appeared in Autism Spectrum News and The Atlantic. Matthew also performs regularly at La-Ti-Do, a musical theater and spoken word cabaret in DC. He is the author of several nonfiction books and most recently a chapbook, Lightning Bugs in Fragile Jars (2017). Professionally, Matthew is a mental health advocate and peer-support specialist with nonprofit organizations in the DC Metro area.
Image by Enfo – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35367942