i stare at the crumbling paper sky

and at the colors that drain from it

the silhouettes of bare trees cast shadows

with darkness spilling from them

like paint all over a canvas

i am alone

with the entire world breaking around me

an aura of gray sweeps over the heavy air

and fills the space where she used to sit

before the stars kidnapped her

we used to connect the twinkling diamonds

trying to create shapes with the whimsical lines

but we never will again

the midnight sky used to be full of

watercolors that seeped into one another

but now there is nothing

only the hushed melody of memories no more

and the feel of tears tumbling from my eyes

and gathering at the corners of my mouth

but slowly i reach out my quivering fingers

and try to grab the shards of hope

raining down from up above

they plummet piece by piece into my palms

and i glue them together over time

one piece a day

a sky turning one shade lighter every day

my heart thumping to a more upbeat rhythm every day

i take life day by day

until

her soul soars around me once again

and i can feel her sitting next to me

her steady breath making everything okay

and then one night

the sky explodes and becomes tie-dyed

with memories of an everlasting friendship