last heartbeat

only when you've touched the sky
when you've walked the world
and coughed up salt water
only when you've stepped into dawn
to follow into dusk
only when you look down at your hands
and see so many paths taken
so many dead ends
only when the stars fall down and
burn to death, when the
clouds explode and the moon
becomes a puddle of tears
only when the people you love,
let you go
only when your hair falls out
and your mind grows dark
only when light blends into
night and rainbows become black and white
only when everything worth fighting
for has fallen, dust to ashes and ashes
to light
only when fate taunts you, better luck
next time
only then can you please let go
and listen to that one last heartbeat
and wish it could have been

***I changed it...thanks Valerie ;)