forgotten whispers
your toes curled on the dusty rooftop
the breeze wisps my neck
and i sigh into the horizon line
like chocolate melted over the stove,
a sweet lullaby.
mumble your breath
onto my eyelids
onto the strings of my limbs
onto the lips of the somber
seeking summer skyline,
our days under the sun.
a moment
i pour you a glass of compromise
the ceramic skin of the cup
laps the rushing stream of water
a tongue outstretched:
thirsty and afraid.
the variegated lines in your palm
jagged tic-tac-toe grids
converging into meaning
like the hesitation i can sense
in your eyebrows.
as i plead with you,
silver tears
dribble down
the clefts of my face
a metallic taste in my mouth
of the watered-down pain
far too heavy to carry on our shoulders.
as you step onto my toes
and my heartstrings
the truth dies with its master
cocooned in the musty grave.
my body shivers from the tips of
my nails to the rushing veins in
my nervous system
the ink of my blood staining the coating
in my eyes, the clear gloss muddled.
your eyelids brush my chest
heavy breathing, unsteady heat
and i never want to forget
the roaring of the hail
and the hush of the wind,
but as your spilt water seeps
through the splintered cracks
of my tiled kitchen floor
and my throat echoes into the trenches
crimson dampness in a scarlet night,
your feet shuffle into the stars
and my heart hangs with steel.
Inlandia: A Literary Journey 