➳ cacophonous cradlesong

feuds in the night–

my cacophonous cradlesongs–

keep my eyes wide shut

➳ insomniac mirage

as restless as the

ocean tide, i drift upon

the seas of slumber

➳ let me in

drained tear ducts and dreamless nights make for dry eyes. i yearn to peek through the windows to your soul, but the lights within them have dimmed and the shades have been drawn. damn you! my pupils desire to rendezvous with yours. won’t you let them?

➳ star (siren of the night)

siren of the night,

i scale the alps to reach you,

and you spurn my hand?

➳ the longest knives

blithely bumbling around the gallery,

Gogh’s muse hums a mellifluous melody,

perfecting the sirens’ serenade.

“Sunflowers”

aim to imitate him–

attempt to capture

his golden hues.

with a satin jacket

stained by sulfur

and a crown adorned

with canary down,

he’s yellow pigment

personified.

he beams,

and blossoms bloom for him–

i bloom for him.

is he sunshine?

he rests on the bench

beside me, warming my skin

with his rays–

feelings soon to fade;

he extracts a switch blade

and incises the wood with profanities,

desecrating this temple of treasures–

a temple created for him.

i wipe honey from my lips and

dab vinegar on my wrists–

drain reverence from my eyes

and withdraw into myself

like withering wisterias.

he makes a buzzing sound in my ear; i flinch.

grazing the honey bee inked on my wrist, he asks,

“why do you fear the creatures you adore?”

i gaze solemnly into his eyes

and my tongue, heavy with premonition, replies,

“because my beloveds brandish the longest knives.”

➳ talons

insults grow on your

fingernails–talons with which

you lacerate me

➳ corpus flori

my heart

was once

impregnated with

concentrated love.

then melancholy

thrust forward

its jealous sword,

leaving lamprocapnos

spectabilis behind.

i waited for a savior

to darn my

bleeding heart,

a savior which

never came.

now,

depleted of ardor,

i burrow into

a potpourri sachet,

hoping that

someone

will adore

the bittersweet redolence

of my withered remains.

➳ too shallow

brackish rivulets

wander my cheeks, taunting–too

shallow to drown in.

➳ rest for the weary

god draws a deep breath

and blows out the candlelight;

all good things must end

➳ hydrogen bond

we

are an

oxygen molecule–

a concept

intangible yet

vital.

welcome is the

sting of remembrance,

preferable to the

dullness of disremembrance.

i wouldn’t dare erase

the recollections

of our love–like a

hydrogen bond, they keep

you and me

from

falling

a p a r t.

➳ fiat lux

i dream of

serendipitous rekindling–

the post-mortem trysts

of star-crossed lovers.

reactive spirits

(vodka and motor oil)–

combustibles charged

with longing and lust–

coalesce into

molotov cocktails–

conceive supernovae

which outshine the entire galaxy

in moments of

ephemeral euphoria.

mi amor,

meet me at the juncture of

Venus and Cetus.

we,

too,

can eclipse the sun.

➳ kidney stones

don’t despair, my love.

life’s kidney stones will pass, though

not bereft of throes

➳ sad girls

sad girls

–are still–

beautiful girls

➳ happiness will come

does the sun shine as brightly on the way things are right now? perhaps not, but the sun can shine as brightly on the way things will be.

Next Chapter: Survive