I think of the shadows we could have created
floorboards laid together
the seams of dark between us
thick with spilled stars
worn away with waking
a blizzard of butterflies
a tree shakes off
a torrent of rain
dipped its head
in the sky
you’re the green fronds of fire
that grouts the cobbled back streets of my heart
the bright butterflies still being born
from the braided shadows of brambles
blossom become sentient
leaves become
same colour
as the fire
that made them fall
where you try to excavate
your encrypted heart
I wanted to touch the scars
upon your clawed at chest
bright
as a blackbirds beak
light stuck
between your teeth
eyelashes
on fire
took shelter
in the shadows
beyond the lamps
lost
what I’ve not even
found
close the gate gentle
make it chime
close it like a delicate thing
as if just leaving
looking in
upon a sleeping child
isn’t that how hearts
should be handled
footsteps made faint
by grass
no knock required
no doorbell
rattling the rooms
just the soft cry
of a rusted hinge
sunlight and midnight
lines the inside
of our chests
I see you
the suits of shadows
lined with gold
I like how the last of the light
lingers in the tree outside my window
clings to all its small leaves
clinging to the branches