pirouette upon rusted blades
across scorched streets
dissolve into the spray
of their own sparks
rust and ash
pollen and snow
a blizzard of butterflies
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
we breathe in
the dark of each other
your heart
more scar than tissue now
you’re scarring the scars
sunlight and midnight
lines the inside
of our chests
glass the gatekeeper
asks the sky
if they’re on the list
lamps wore away
at the dark
curtains need the breeze
to touch the room
a little more
I think of the shadows we could have created
floorboards laid together
the seams of dark between us
thick with spilled stars
daylight crashes
against the skylight
woodsmoke laces the air
with the cream
of its song
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
my hand a sparrow
dreaming in the bowl
of your palm