Stained Glass Sea

April Gompers

The colored air that we breathe

Ricochets from the waves

Of a stained glass sea.

And I know that the ceiling is only concrete,

But I feel it elevate me,

Almost making me believe.

I want so badly to only believe

In something other than

This external beauty.

So, if I believe in you

Will you believe in me?

And we can balance on each others’ backs

And find a way back to our feet.

’Cause I’ve been lying low so long

And I envy every tree

That feels the light and reaches up

Toward something I can’t see.

I’m grounded here beside all of

The sinners and the shrubbery

And as lofty as my intentions may be,

I don’t feel any puppet strings

Pulling up my angel wings.

But if I believe in you,

And you believe in me,

It won’t matter who is watching

Or waiting for the day we leave.

We can live until our lives expire

And have the envy of every tree.

For we can dance and laugh and sing

And run until we feel free.

We can inhale the colored air
And taste every moment as we breathe.

And we can drift together in a stained glass sea.