That I Might Remain

I am lost behind the words
I could never find
to say out loud.
Now, they seep out of my mind
onto this day old parchment
stained with broken dreams and regret.
Ink blurs through tears.
The aching beat of my heart
stays constant
beating rhythmically
like windshield wipers
in the pouring rain
wiping away my tears
just in time for the next ones to fall
Tears like a river,
carving out the innermost canyons
of my soul
eroding the ambivalence
created and destroyed
from drugstore drive-by's
and liquor-soaked nights.
I swim through the loneliness
and buzzing lights
of this yellow-stained town
flickering
with hope...
That I might remain.
True to myself
because...
there is no one else.