Alyssa

Alyssa Nov 2020

Cadaver

the scar in the wounded ground
where your grave was dug won't heal
everpresent welt
meridian bisecting my heart

I've kept your cadaver in bed
for exactly a hundred years
wishing you'd wake up with me one day
but I haven't been able to sleep

Alyssa Oct 2020

Atmospheric romance

I am the alpine chill
the pressure of the tundra
sweep of fog that daily dies
arctic bride in love with a vaporous sight

ghost in the clouds dispersed
I dress in morning haze
gauze and mist faint a dress
sighs dissolve in a veil

whirling winds and undertow
hurricane you grow
breathing through the storm
giving the ocean its new form

perpetual lunar tide
rippling aqueous mirage
oxygen and carbon dioxide
impossible atmospheric romance

Alyssa Oct 2020

At night

tender flesh
rippled synapses connect
through ligaments and thoughts
the heart contracts
love coagulates
on the wrist a scarlet line
pools the loneliness at night
dampening the mystery of suicide

the neighbour can taste the rot
puppy whining in the hall
shadows grow thicker than blood
the moon witnessed it all

Alyssa Sep 2020

Mars

Ares of bloodied sands
Mars of iron oxide
light and soft, rovers traverse
the cold desserts of death
enveloped in dust storms and devils
mountainous spawn desolated
of eruptions and asteroid wars
mesozoic realm suspended
in space abandoned glistens
through the endless wonder of night

Alyssa Sep 2020

A handful of ash

my father asked no pension for his verses
and left no sounds in the house
it wasn't him but the music that died

I asked my mother for his guitar
she gave me a handful of ash

Alyssa Aug 2020

Mantis

I became a bride at twelve
wearing my mother's jewels
in haste, in heat, by mistake
at the fair with a ticket
you said to keep the secret

at fifteen I am a widow
in my bed your headless body
freezing cold at noon
time now moves in shudders
my father looks like you

Alyssa Aug 2020

Virus

of name untold and pain unsure
in the penultimate hour of the day
a shadow, a murmur, an imprint in the bed
the smallest child next door is dead

The world outside is quiet now
but there is music in the room
sweet mechanical staccato
to the rhythm of machines
a marching tune to depart
in wonder toward the setting stars