each night I set fire to your skin
the torch thrown over the battlefield
ritual sacrifice, a cleanse
to enter the next fray a clean slate
you wake in the morning
and shake the ash from your hair

the hardest part of me to accept
exists on the softest part of your body
written in the thinnest skin
where the bones in your wrist
distort my name

you'll learn
to swallow your fears like wine
and savor the burn in the back of your throat

My mind is wrapped around you
in the way I wish my arms were
I wish my lips were pressed against the scar
on the bridge of your nose
in the way my heart is pressed against
the inside of my chest
I want to feel your hair between my fingers
to feel your teeth set against my skin
God only knows that your hands
are woven through the bone cage of my ribs
and your teeth cut deep into the flesh of my soul
eons ago

I’ve developed a taste
for dark chocolate
for cherries and blood oranges
Things I never imagined I would crave
in the same way
I long for you

teach me how to hunt
hold my hand, take me with you
show me your world
I want to hear the snap of a bowstring
in the silent forests
I’ve tasted the sting of an arrow’s head
I know how true they fly
they know exactly where to strike
who knew
that the softest plate in my armor
was just over my heart

We’re all bound together, he says
This little red thread between my fingers
And yours
And his
Caught between who you are
Who you were
And maybe who you could be
He kisses me through the web
Through the tangle of crimson silk
Sipping wine from my lips
Offering blood in return, despite his preference
for
flesh

He’s rubbed off on you
brought your rage to the surface
Which is fine
I think
But you can’t be this angry
when you’re drinking with me

Blood will cut the sweetness
of wine on your lips

you'd be wont
to open the coffin door
long after it's closed
you've tasted fear
or maybe love
passion is inextricable
inconceivable
the same rush
the same adrenaline
endorphins
the ache
none of it is intelligible
when your tongue is in my mouth
or my blood is on your hands

Lovers kiss
fig-sweet and holy
tangled in ivy
fingers twined 
in Titian hair
He loves the taste
of wine and blood
the madness 
of drunken lust
of frenzied rage
of flesh and fruit
Lips full
and blushed crimson
slick with nectar
Words that spill from
his kiss-swollen mouth
rend and restore
burn against skin
Balm of Gilead 
to the heart
Drink him, slowly
the thirst
is bottomless

“I love 
the taste
Of someone else’s wine
On your lips and your cheeks. 
You crave the tang of iron
And ichor
On mine.”

the feeling of an open mouth
humid
warm
breath that comes in sighs
and blooms over skin
the point of a spider's leg
tugging at the seams of eyelids
trailing drying tears
over your cheek
pushing between lips that praise
and teeth that crave
the bite of a lover
the sting of fear
in the same exhale
"I love you" whispered
over the din of war
"I need you" spoken aloud
in the reverent silence of worship