Reflections on Vice's Versa: He As I

Did the dream you had last night
The one about the wolves again
The one about the haunted house
And the scary room upstairs
Did it seem less oppressive
In the morning light
Because someone else was laying
Beside you
Instead of me?
I have been gone for so long;
I know that I did not bring much comfort, just an
Exclamation and comparison of
My own worries, no wall to
Bounce off of, no
Shoulder to lean on, just a shell
With a talking mouth,
Talking, talking, no listen here,
Only the ability to say
'Yes,well,so...I hurt, too'
As if that was some small comfort.

Do you remember the time you fell,
And I did not help you up,
I thought you were faking,
Faking like you would later do for years
Isn't that what actors do,
Strut and sweat and lie -
And I was surprised that your ankle
Was swollen twice its size the next day.

I remember the sun
Burning white heat through the window
Over and onto the pillow
That was empty beside me.
The dog lay in the space in between
Not at all concerned, for
At least one of us was there
But if he knew how little you cared
For either of us
He would have picked up his bone
And howled at the injustice
Of it all.