heart a grate
full with ash
carried out
to the garden
on a warm
windy night
light a candle
with me
all night
we’ll watch
the lowering
of the flag
of its flame
I see you
the suits of shadows
lined with gold
rooms lit by storms
and midnight snow
my heart
more cave and cavity now
waiting for the collapse
in another field
skylarks sleep
wings taking root
in the earth
summer did not live
in that summerhouse
winter and spring
braided themselves there
the hinges of your heart
sprinkles rust like pollen
as the dark wind of your blood
squeezes through its doors
left ajar
stories to temper steel to
when the story falls silent
the folds folded
asleep inside the blade
I write to you
to keep you near me
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
I won’t speak to you again
I will still sing to you
songs white as whispers
same frequency as ghosts
glass the gatekeeper
asks the sky
if they’re on the list
sparrows dream songs
within the walls