Brian Dang

this time (a chorus of femmes)

There’s a window we look through and this time
it has been shattered by a bullet

meant for us. We look through and this time
we see the trees as they shake

reminding us we are shaking and bleeding out
but we do it together in tempo to make music

with our bodies. It is human to shake. This time
we hold on so we don’t slip through

the cracks of each other’s fingers like time
and time again we ask if we can stop running

out of time. We are tired of waiting for time
to make us martyrs. We stopped time

with our own bare hands to wrestle nostalgia
and dreams into the world because our time

is now. We are dreaming and nostalgic for now.
Now is the time we hurtle towards

a choice that will last the rest of our time
on Earth. We choose to be together

for time immemorial plus one day
where we take the time to put away

the kettle (bless its horn) and fold the linens
one last time and say goodbye

to the coal in the kitchen one last time and goodbye
to the skin peeling off from ragged hands

on ragged rags or maybe we just actually burn
it all down to save time and when we serve

we serve ourselves since our time is finally
ours to do what we will. Spending

time is a false phrase. It fools us
into thinking we can’t hold

time together as if it doesn’t flower
and fruit at the same time

when we hold each other. No more waiting
for enough time to kiss each other

for just a moment. We don’t need to stoop
to stealing time from another’s clock

whose face cannot dare conceive of a time
where we have everything we want to hold

forever to look at the stars as we lay our heads
onto each other forever and we feel

ourselves into something like forever and some
say forever is a long time but it is only

a moment in comparison to what it means
when we keep each other

close to traverse the narrow sliver of time
given to us. When you are closer to nothing

you feel everything. Your entire lifetime flashes
before your very eyes and you feel

everything that passed through your body during
your time. There is no more time to be

standing idly by waiting for a more peaceful death
threat written in the stars by some reaper

who clocks us closer to death than a life worth
living. Keep that time away from us. Fracture

time. Mangle time. And above all else, eat it
and feel full. Feel ready. Feel

eased. Breathe. We breathe at the speed of our bodies
and not a second faster. Spring comes

when it wants to come and we come
when we want to come. We will be there

to see Spring because this time,
in the end, we live.

We live
and live
and live
and live
and live
and live!