I see you
the suits of shadows
lined with gold
we breathe in
the dark of each other
just before the kiss
push me back into the world
like ghosts do
when the living get too close
the scent of skin
too much
they push away
because they long too much
for what they’ve lost
they want you too stay
in the world
you because
you don’t want to hold
what will be lost
the tear
of the candle flame
sharpened
like a sable brush
pinched to a point
by the lips
of the sky
that refuses
to let it fall
the column
of its body
turns clear
before the soft chorus
of smoke
pulled
from its scorched
throat
leaves become
same colour
as the fire
that made them fall
my favourite bit
when you appeared
around the bend
at the end of my street
come to meet me
the ghost of gold
on an autumn night
stitched together
with neon thread
your black dress
splashed by the sirens
from the cries of the city
your red heels
sparked the sealskin
of the pavement
drains choked with fire
summer did not live
in that summerhouse
winter and spring
braided themselves there
silver poplars shiver
with the echo of light
wind gathers in the trees
light soaked into
a longed-for letter
never sent
never written
scars like lips sewn shut
kiss without tongue
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
the ones
who hollow you out
leave a cave
for another
to place
a candle in
the hinges of your heart
sprinkles rust like pollen
as the dark wind of your blood
squeezes through its doors
left ajar
I miss the tenderness
of being near you
your body soaked
in star and sea light
the sighs
from stroked shores