three one one
free to run
and jump off the cliff
of the canyons of Earl
your tree rings swirl
fifty four and no more
i had nineteen when i wore
black on black for you

the arching arboretum anticipates my alliterations
telling too timeless tales of Latin language
binomial botany begins by being barbarously bleak
dioecious dogwoods dance doing dainty droops
leaves lie lamely, larking like sweet starlight shine.

reach out and choke
how dare you touch my neck
and my heart

come with me
to the secret garden
let us dance with fairies
and eat wild berries

a cobblestone path
leads us to a witch’s hut
she casts a love spell on you
but not on me

frolic through lavender fields
the bees tell us stories
i am listening to their every word
you are listening to my heartbeat

eat these magic mushrooms
that the caterpillar gave us
i can see your aura and i can smell your words
but you know that feeling every time you look at me

i want to leave, this is not my realm
but you were born here

the moon used to follow me
when i was a child
and filled with joy

but now i don’t see her quite as often
she is busy mourning
the children that she loved
after they grew up
and didn’t love themselves

you were a rare specimen,

i wanted to catch you with my words,

paralyze you with my gaze,

dissect you with my tongue,

and stuff you with my love,

i wanted to keep you as a trophy,

but you were wild, and i was eccentric.

aphrodite gifted me her beauty
but i call upon her to let known,
the smoke that fills my lungs
and the fire that lies in your wake

ares gifted me her ruthlessness
but i call upon her to let known,
the war you started within me
and how untamed i became

athena gifted me her wisdom
but i call upon her to let known,
the thoughts i still have of you
and how skilled you are at being persistent

eleos gifted me her compassion
but i call upon her to let known,
how i still feel pity for myself
and how i wish to mercy you for your misdeeds

these women do not live within me to make me
a weaker version of myself
they live within me
to make me strong
in your absence

catching the hesitation that these silent
worlds glaze

meaningless. smoke. echoing.
though an unworthy lover
stays,