I Am Not Here

Tonight I will not call upon the elements
to shake or bake
or sink
my thoughts
in poetic ink

Tonight
I will not fly
to rest a note
on a cloud passing by
for a messenger to deliver
to something so much more than I

I will be quiet,
grounded
neither nearsighted
nor far
and will simply
 let all things be
 nothing more
or less than what they are

I will stay inside
my skyless room
with no burning candles
 to coax a kind light
to shun the gloom

The metaphors will be left
beside my house keys
and they definitely will not rhyme
perhaps I'll take them out
some other time

I will not rouse a sleeping poet
I'll leave those dreams undisturbed
and stay awake on my own
my breath will breathe alone

So if anyone asks
if anyone should care
tell them you haven't seen me
I am not here