it drags remorselessly on into morning
while they shield themselves before a makeshift sun
She searches for words
hidden in the carpet
between the fibres, a patchwork of shades
unable to bring her eyes to meet his
And as she finds them, one by one
she says them more to herself
barely a whisper
shaping each syllable with her lips
sounding them out
tasting them with her tongue
the question she doesn't want to ask
lest it break the spell
"What are we doing?"
He exhales softly
a quiet, sharp sigh
like he'd been holding it all his life
In that quivering breath, she knows he's thinking
of all that she could mean
and if he hesitates
if he stumbles for a moment
on what this could become
he masks it poorly
in his way
and her thoughts sink ever lower
cursing silently this phrase she'd found
His fingers brush against her cheek
She feels his eyes
"Do you want to stay?"
She almost laughs of shock, to hear it aloud
so startled by the broken silence
His sweet ignorance
And, gratefully, she allows the words their rest
upon the carpet once more
losing themselves amongst the loops of the floor
Her eyes finally meet his
rising so slow and heavy
from such great ocean depths
Her nod is almost lost to him
so captured in her gaze
Shadows play across her face
a smile tugs imperceptibly at the corners of her mouth
Then, suddenly, it's gone
the moment betrayed
as he speaks again
"But that's not what you meant..."
The world at once becomes a smaller place
than times of old
cowering from these opened eyes
The map no longer has an edge (you cannot divide infinity)
it expands out
wraps around
until the corners meet
until we end where we began
unable to fall from the path
we cannot lose ourselves (in a moment, in a place)
and a bit more colour drains from the world
Knowing everything leaves no room
for where the magic dwells
flowering greater in the darkness
than could ever in the light
After an eternity she pulls away
She wants to lose herself
"Am I yours?"
Such desperate abandon
He wants to lose himself
But logic awakens somewhere
it grabs at the map
Don't stray from the path, it nags
the moral of a faerie tale
And he's sick of it
He takes her chin, so gently, between thumb and forefinger
and lifts her gaze once more
Lose yourself
something screams inside of him
in this moment
in this place
"Am I all yours?"
Fingers grope blindly for an edge
to pry apart
So they bathe in their madness
submerged amidst the ink of night
All other sounds seem distant
far off
drowning in this liquid black
and all he can hear is her breathing
Heavy
Primal
Calling, frantic, to his flesh
It passes through him, into him
and his heart
it shudders in release
Lips brush against his skin
her hair rolls over his hands
she buries her head into his chest
Her scent intoxicates
dragging him deeper
to the place where nothing else exists
The dream, aloud, would lose its power
Speech brings with it compromise
fantasy losing form
a spoiled colour of its life
or emotion of its passing
So too the moment
let it happen
or don't
But the words will be its end
and the words know it
They are elusive
in fear of themselves
and the wreckage they leave in their wake
Shadows play across the walls
crashing upon themselves in waves
this turbulent sea
that knocks their sun from its place in the sky
Then, suddenly, it's gone
a world built on memories
now broken things
the moment betrayed
The flame bleeds them of what was, and could have been
smoke billows in its place
Fingers feel grass prickling beneath
and search instead
the Other's embrace
that they've escaped the blaze
and it, too, escaped from them
An ocean now fills the distance they keep
measured only in inches
so close
and out of reach
no longer able to make that final leap
And it clears to him
amongst the ash
how tenuous they were
such fragile things
now twisted and charred at their feet
They wish the night could dowse this light
that urges magic's flight.
The fire blooms before them
it smoulders in places
and bursts forth anew
There are two of them here
at the end of the world
this boy and girl
who might be lovers
Once
soon
or never
but wanting
They sit together
yet apart
and see in themselves this burning dance
reflected in an orange glow
A silence
filled with all the things they'll never say.
No comments:
Post a Comment