Why Now from Faraway City by Valerie Orth

we sent out the news alerts
made headlines far and wide
everyone lowered their flags half-staff
and sighed

I cried, all my friends cried with me
I eventually stopped having those bad dreams
finally started to breathe normally

so what are you doing here
looking at me with those precious blue eyes
why now after my hard-earned healing
why are you hugging me so tight?

I set you on a boat, packed with
bottles of our fantasies
took one last hard look, gave one last hard push
then watched you sail away

I crossed the world’s longest bridge
to climb the highest peak on the other side
held mass then scattered our ashes
which danced off like a thousand kites

so what are you doing here
looking at me with those precious blue eyes
why now after my hard-earned healing
why are you hugging me so tight?

I scrubbed, washed you so damn good
then hung you out in the beating sun
bleaching you to a pale distant past
just a lesson, another lesson, a hard lesson...

• Alternative
• Electronic
• alt pop
• indie pop
• indie rock
• New York