Talk to me

Talk to me

Tell me there’s a life worth living
Tell me soon and make me hear
Give me hope and faith and meaning
Slake my desiccating fear.

Talk to me of love and laughter
The simple joys that matter more
Than thinning hair and fading beauty
And all the demons at my door.

Remind me of the ones that loved me
Persuade me of the worth they saw
Unearth the memories I’ve buried
Make them sharp and make them raw.

Philosophers have wrecked religion
Scientists have vanquished god
This mortal coil unwinds to nothing
Save mouldering beneath the sod.

Tell me there’s a life worth living
Even as I lose my friends
Point me to a new beginning
So I may see beyond the ends.

Test the essence of my being
Whatever made my birth worthwhile
Is the pilot-light still burning
Not yet extinguished by the bile?

Tell me more than ‘life is precious’
Platitudes do not excite
Pious tropes will go unheeded
Threats of Hell fail to ignite.

Existential angst this may be
Do I jump or do I fall
Do I pay a price for choosing
Does fate any choice forestall?

Tell me if you know the answers
Fabricate them if you must
Give me something to cling onto
Do not be burdened by my trust.

Not my friend and not my lover
No familial bond exists
No duty owed or debt outstanding
But what I need from you persists.

On your path but at my crossroads
Different journeys brought us hence
And yet I ask you for your guidance
And offer you no recompense.

Opportunist or abandoned?
Trusting luck or cast adrift?
Seeking independent counsel
Too cheap to pay for life’s last lift?

Does it matter why I stand here?
More pertinent is what I need
Bereft and just a little broken
Plaintive as a wind-bent reed.

Tell me there’s a fire worth fanning
A spark within my cooling ash
A few more years of burning brightly
Not halting steps but final dash.

Time has brought us to this junction
A place I do not recognise
Please understand I had to stop
And ask that you extemporise.

So free me from this cloying moment
Loose the ties that hold me fast
Encourage me to face the future
To keep on moving from the past.

Tell me there’s a life worth living
And when you’re sure that I believe
Even though you do not know me
Hold me once before you leave.

And later cresting your horizon
You’ll turn to see me wave from mine
One simple thought will buoy your journey
I talked to him and he’ll be fine.