Let me hold you a little while longer

 

Let me hold you a little while longer

I roll over in the middle of the night / to go pee for the third time / while our leader sleeps soundly through the night / I stumble reaching to turn the florescent light on / and worry about what kind of world / I’m bringing you into / while the most powerful man in the country / shines his fluorescent white teeth / in the name of exclusivity / The sun goes to bed early and comes up late / and my dreams are dark and / drag at my limbs to stay in bed / You kick me from the inside / and I know you are almost ready to face / the cruel world, the fluorescent, angry lights / I dream for you in the dark / gentle sunlight on your face / young grass clutched eagerly in your firm fists / toes dipped in cool clear water / and shrieks of delight from your sun dappled cheeks / One more night I whisper / and try not to cry and instead / try to think of every good thing that could ever be / and not about how I’ll never again / have you here so close to me / the illusion of safety / Let me hold you a little while longer / Let me dream for you and build / with my own two hands against the rising tide / a world more kind than home.

— olivia gwyn