She had long since stopped singing. The notes that had once flown off her tongue now lay dormant, her voice box squirreling away melodies meant to be sung aloud. Once, she brought smiles to the faces of old men as she trilled and skipped about, flaunting the youthful lightness of her limbs. But the notes were gone now, and with nothing to carry her, she sunk.

She no longer slept as she once had. Her nights had stretched long, with such indifference for the troubles of the waking, she had rarely bothered to see the morning. Now she awoke before the sun, shaken from slumber by the ghosts that haunted her. She knew they had less hold in consciousness.

Singing, sleeping, these she did not miss. They simply slipped away when she had forgotten to notice them, forgotten to relish her dreams, to hum lyrics that buoyed her above the pavement.

She rises
effervescent
before the sun
eyes cutting the darkness like headlights

she sheds her skin
of crisp cotton
Pink and raw
stretching to the horizon like a wind burned cactus

her limbs lead her
to the window pane
she gazes through the frost
beholding the silent expanse like looking into her tomb

I thought I knew all there was to know about me
I’d never thought someone would know secrets about me
that I didn't

yet, you told me
that somehow I always smell like incense
and vanilla
and warmth

And I had never given much thought to my spine
But you taught me
that there is beauty to be found
in the gentle curve of my back

You showed me
that my lips
could make constellations
trailing across your body
I was shocked to learn my kisses could be stars

And you knew
the back of my hands
far better than I ever will
because you held them to your lips
and you worshiped them

I’d never noticed my eyebrows
but the day you said you liked them
they became my favorite part of my body

And every inch of my skin that you touched
was better for it
And even when you're gone
I’ll always remember you
for turning my lips
into stars