Always Darker (Poetry)

It’s always darker, Leonard
the hour before the storm
words soothe the heart like honey
and keep the spirit warm

The air grows thick with longing
old lovers raise their dust
and dance a dirge, unknowing
how time erodes all trust

Those candles we’ve been burning
now melted pools of wax
blood-red with hopeless yearning
for truth to change the facts

The thunder’s full of voices
to bring the message home
age strips us of life’s choices
dark finds us on our own

Now it’s close to midnight’s hour
and the power’s on the blink
for it’s always later, Lenny —
so much later than we think

Hark the far-off saintly chorus
hear faint screaming far below
as the black unrolls before us
clearly we’re not meant to know

What is waiting for the pious
or the wickedly inclined
should some holy courtroom try us
they will find what they will find

We are infinitely human
there’s a multitude of proof
and we crucified the true man
when he tried to tell the truth

For we’re foolish, cruel and lazy
yet imagine we’re all right
though we’re bordering on crazy
and the future’s lost to sight

As it grows darker by the hour
there’s no way to turn the tide
and the bravest hearts will cower
as the ocean opens wide

While moonlight fades in memory
and faith’s long been denied
your lyrics echo honestly
love’s ghost their tender guide.