Every year on the longest night, the old women tell tales
Of wicked things who travel on the winds,
Whirling wisps and wild screeches
Every door and window is locked without exception,
On this night, they say, the wind does not blow
It howls.
Every year on the longest night I languish,
Sleep deprived
The house is filled with guests, and I sit with my tea in hand
Sipping, laughing, sipping
Waiting
Until the dawn breaks,
With the slightest sliver of soft gold and blood red
I take a spoonful of honey
I stir my tea, watching the saccharine gold melt
I stir and I stir. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I sip
Tonight I will take another spoonful
This time to my mouth
Honey drips from my lips
A lick
Met with a scowl from an old neighbor beside me
Her eyes say I am an ill-mannered girl
I wipe away quickly
I take a walk around the room, I look for your face
Knowing I will not find it
I venture away from the crowd,
I hear faint whispers, beautifully wicked things
They stalk beside my window, covered with ice and sand
Their horrible lullabies beckon me to open my door
I want you to be outside that door waiting for me
I want milk and honey to flow like the rivers of paradise
I want my body to be a river
I want you to swim in it
I want you to bathe in it
I want you to drown
I switch to wine
I pour
I gulp
An elixir of blood, rubies, and longing
I drink like every promise you made to me can be found at the bottom of the glass
I pour again, I pour like this wine is my lover
You said you are my lover
Yet this wine is inside me and you are not
Tonight I will not sleep and I will not meet you in my dreams
I go to the door to the balcony, I step outside barefoot
I see the waxing crescent moon smiling down at me as though to say
“Go on…”
Why should I only meet you in my dreams?
I will ask those wicked things to carry you with them
I will have them bring you back to me
There will be no stars to light your way,
Only a promise to finally taste me again
An icy wind catches my dress and sends shivers down my spine
But who am I to you?
Too much honey in a teacup
Too much wine in a glass
Are you on some other balcony, in the cold, watching the moon smile?
Or are you warm beside a fire?
I go inside and lock the door.