As Long

There were a lot of things splattered all over his chest,
all over it,
blood down a periwinkle collared shirt,

we had a lot to applaud,
to lead us through the weeds for,
to walk sideways for,
to give fake handshakes for,
to look past each other for,

and it was a little more dead in these parts,
a little bit more each day,
but it could never bottom out,

it could only go low enough that we could see the clouds,
and the dead ones peering back at us,

and I was okay not liking each other,
not believing in each other,
as long as we presented the opposite,

and covered up these marks with skin colored bandages