The sky must never fall!
Someone shouted that at him
Long ago when tempers ran hot
In the mad scramble
To pick up the pieces of giants
Obsessed with the complete obliteration
Of one another.
Long ago when duty was literal
And clarity trivial,
He found firm ground to brace his legs
As his hands met a sky that was suddenly 
His solitary responsibility
For a while longer
Than the foreseeable future.
It went on until he’d forgotten
The shouter’s face or the days
His limbs didn’t ache
From the now self-imposed pressure he placed
On some off chance
That maybe he himself won’t be forgotten;
That maybe what he’d done would matter
As he prayed for the next breath - 
And felt hers,
Steady as she stepped in beside him,
Holding up half the sky
That didn’t have to be borne alone,
After all, and could go on for eons
Now that she was there.

Want more content like this?