For Ryan
We were meant to be
characters: two queer geeks
with a Tarot set.
Setting: the day of the
velveteen stage, with you
striding like Orion.
Scene: small hall, high school.
Your face in a movie;
a strange radiance.
You called me a star but
all I could think of was halation.
A thousand screens.
The cards and limelight drew
as the spots struck the blue
and I started to seethe.
But today my jade breaks.
Heavenly spectrums say so:
divined they write
we’re all learnt
celestial bodies
and dirt.
So keep on
shining, boy.
You’re a giant.
