worn away with waking
bells hold onto
all the peals struck
from the dark
of their bodies
a forever home for shadows
hung in the wind
that whips whispers
from their stillness
glass the gatekeeper
asks the sky
if they’re on the list
sparrows dream songs
within the walls
silhouettes pirouette
with the shadows
of marionettes
storm in the earth
night bright
with the peeled back
bellies of leaves
begging for the blade
words brighter
than the paper
they scar
we breathe in
the dark of each other
light soaked into
a longed-for letter
never sent
never written
fairy lights flickered
when no one was watching
woodsmoke curled to sleep
in the grass
where you try to excavate
your encrypted heart
I wanted to touch the scars
upon your clawed at chest
you speak in song
sing to the robin
about how your heart
rusted red
I won’t speak to you again
I will still sing to you
songs white as whispers
same frequency as ghosts
I don’t think about the thorns
I think about the blackberries
of your love
how they reveal the labyrinths
of my fingerprints
that touches the dark
trying to find your face