before the battery runs out

a pardon
a struggle
an invisible bubble
the circumference of
a + b
equals
she & me
sacrifice
at the
turn of a dime
turns late nights
to early mornings
and shields me
from mourning
it spills out
in colors
and letters
shapes
and feathers
brushing the portrait
of a picture
lived
and never painted
and time
has me acquainted
too closely
with temperance
an art form
of grace
singing silently
and you
have to be brave