To be…
Adorned in the affection
That shimmers out of
Your mouth
Pearls embroider my throat
Left by the ghosts
Of your touch
Whispering
Over the sensitive ridges
Of my collarbone
And malachite gems
Pattern the memory
Of your lips
Against my ear
Where your breath
Burned its teasing warmth
So let my body
Unabashed and willing
Bear the indelible intaglios;
The jewels of your love.
Paradise becomes possible
In the colors of your voice
Splattering through
The monochrome prism
Of my world
With blinding light
More radiant
Than the primrose flushes
Of dawn
Streaking the horizon
And could I sink
Within the velvet embrace
Of your laughter
I’d tuck myself away
Like a child
Cocooned in abundant sheets
Clinging
To the halcyon promise
Shaped to the sound
Of my name
On your lips
Am I
Not trying hard enough
To let you see
Beyond the folds
Of these frayed seams
Keeping me
From falling apart?
With razor-tipped talons
And an indelicate touch
I bear the bruises
Of your thorned caress
While the candied petals
From your lips
Silence every
Tremulous breath—
Swallowed protests
To tear my flesh
From the deep hooks
Of your love—
But perhaps
I’m the one
Gazing through
Translucent scales
Unwilling to accept
That perhaps
You never truly loved me
At all
With pens dipped
In the ruby inkwells
Of our hearts
We wrote each other
Scarlet promises
On scraps of parchment
(Such silly children)
Staring at each other
We placed them
On our tongues
And swallowed
Those bittersweet vows
Beneath
The sycamore tree
Still standing
Though our love
Had long withered
On the wings
Of spring
His touch was always like a phantom wind. A zephyr grazing her cheek. As if he was afraid fire would trail his hand and burn her. And he always kept his distance whenever they walked together. Careful that their hands never bumped or brushed together. The subtlety of his avoidance perplexed her. But she would swallow every question, losing concern in the glimmer of fondness from his silver gaze.
Maybe there was a condition he was sensitive to, something he wasn’t ready to share with her just yet. Which was fine. They’d only been talking for a month, meeting by the lake in the evenings beneath the indulgent starlight. And as they strolled that night, him listening to her recall a cherished childhood memory, she grabbed hold of his hand. Just to surprise him. Just to feel the warmth of his large hand within her own. But her fingers caught nothing, except a fleeting, chilling breeze.
It would be easier
If I could peer into your soul
Without need of untangling mysteries
From the vines of your lips
Coiled around each syllable
Choking every honest word
Through your apprehensive smile
If only I could part
The gossamer curtains
Revealing the stained window
To your heart
Sheltering the things
You wish to keep hidden
From prying eyes
Yet even if your chest
Were an oak door
Awaiting visitation
From some curious soul
An intrigued wanderer
Just like me
I imagine a twist of the brass doorknob
Woudn’t budge the bolts and locks
Stubbornly fixed
To keep you locked away
From me
I wish to know the secrets
Gathered ‘neath the curtain
Of your lashes
The mysteries embedded
Within those evergreen depths
Your fears
Hopes
Dreams
Shadowed in demure caution
I wish to know them all
I want to know the real you
Stripped of all protective façades
Cloaking your vulnerable soul
From the world
This meditative silence
Torn by agonizing staccatos
Of frustrated anger
As I rip apart
My paper heart
Shred after shred
Of flimsy flesh
Fall at my feet
Spilled ink
Of my veins
Wasted
To make sense of these feelings
And give them to you
Cohesive
Beautiful
Untainted
But I only hold
These haunted scribbles
Madness and confusion
Obscuring heart’s truth
How then
Could I ever hope
To make you understand me
And my love for you
When I can’t even
Make sense of myself?
His hands coil
Barbed wire about her waist
And his teeth
Prick like thorns
At her neck
Drawing wine red drops
Of blood
Melting
On his tongue
Upon his bed
Of petals and pain
She is under his control
Where love bleeds
But never dies
Let these words
Like finely spun silk
Caress your mind
In its exquisite texture
And let my love
Like an ethereal blue flame
Chase the shadows
From your heart
