Adventures in 9/30

i imagine our guardian angels trade war stories while we sleep
about the cuts and scrapes we still collect despite their best intentions
on most days
these count as black marks against their records
on others
just the necessary pain along the way

i imagine my angel wants to speak face to face
about the things he's had to watch me do to myself
and i'll tell him
stupid and young are great reasons
to set a few ping pong balls on fire
or drive headlong to a wall of brick
while someone screams to turn
and he'll answer
something like suicidal
and i'll say
hey baby, not on your watch
then he'll get back to the business of guiding me along this life

i imagine our guardian angels know the exact moment we will die
so that no one will be unlucky enough to have a nervous angel
so when we slam on brakes at we think is the last second
they just laugh
at our thinking this was actually our time

because on that day
that day i imagine the guarding would be a bit different
like an urgent whisper to say "i love you"
as much as you could
to count the wind as precious
each time it filled your lungs
to put everything on the line
because everything is all there was
to thank your guardian angel
for carrying you home