Forever

In my midnight
studio,
lying in bed,
I come
to understand
what your word means.

It is long,
recalls death,
like the universe
stretching
only as far as my eye
can see.

It is stifling,
a red brick wall,
neither asking nor demanding
but being
stop,
like the officer
who approached me
that rainy night
because I was a Latino
running from the rain,
showing me how
far I could
go,
letting me know
there's no escape
from the rain.

It comes down
like the rain rains
like the tears of the accused,
like the judge's gable,
like her flowing black robe,
as she walks away,
leaving me with nothing
but the darkness
of the sentence
from her lips,
forever

like our kiss.