the songs will remember you
as the ****** huntress
what the songs forget is that you were so much more

protector of young girls with their heads in the clouds
and hope in their eyes,
daughter of wolves and thunder

you were stripped bare and
the only thing that marked you
as important, was the name of your father

the only thing that they remembered
was the state of your maidenhood
no one warned you how their eyes would linger

and darken in lust,
untouchable, forbidden fruit
because that’s all they thought you were worth

you were three years old
when you refused to be reduced
to a state of being

you were three years old
when you refused to let
any man take what was yours

you were three years old
when you decided
you were to rule the mountains

you proved them wrong

the first time i kissed you,
you tasted of salt and winter.
cold, and familiar.
and gone by the time i opened my eyes.

the last time i kissed you,
you tasted of smoke and summer.
burnt, and aching.
we should have listened when they said nothing lasts forever.

It ends with a scream.
A scream that echoes across the entire city.
She doesn’t sink to her knees.
She collapses.
It’s not beautiful.
It’s heartbreaking and raw.

how do you walk across the universe?
as if you're not carrying the weight of the world
across your shoulders.

how do you move through the stars?
as if you're not weighed down
by the iron shackles binding your feet.