Frontline
A little distance. A little sad song.
A little distance, between here and there.
A little slow dance. Here there is love and understanding.
The space between the hand and the gun,
the memory and the bullet,
here there is your voice saying I’ll see you on the other end of the world.
We all need a little distance where we can get our thoughts straight.
I’m holding on while you’re letting go and in that space lies
the war we told ourselves we’d never start.
The deer wants to be the wolf because the wolf is strong.
The wolf wants to be the deer because the deer doesn’t have to be.
Tired, so tired of the love and the chase,
everyone sets down the war at the frontline.
A little peace time where we can get our thoughts straight.
The only reason the deer still lives,
it waits for the day the baby comes back,
not knowing the baby was ripped from gut to neck by the creek.
We all need a little sad song where we can learn to let go,
and then let go.
As I promised when the napalm came down,
I’ll keep my light on for you until the light goes out.
Then I’ll have a drink and close my eyes until the lights go out.
We all fear a little death.
I’m afraid of going there and not finding you in the field.
I’m afraid of waking up underneath and not finding you there waiting.
I know it’s not that hard to see that the other world is better without me after all.
By Elijah Noble El
Biography:
Elijah Noble El is the twenty-three year old actor, director, and writer. His work has been featured in Words Dance Magazine, The Rising Phoenix Review, and elsewhere. El is the co-founder of Girls Don’t Cry, the film division of the literary magazine Persephone’s Daughters, a magazine founded by Meggie Royer dedicated to empowering women who have experienced various forms of abuse and degradation.