I choose
not to step out
in front of the
oncoming truck
like some flighty
whitetail deer
beside a lonely highway
flat-lining through the Badlands

I hold the perimeter
respect the irrevocable
delineations of love
honor the ground
that roots
evergreen
place my trust
in lapis blue

He repeated the words
"No one will ever love you"
so many times
that I started to believe him,

and I'm in need of constant
reassurance that I'm safe
because everything he did
plays on repeat in my head,
and I feel as if
I never really escaped it at all.

I got so used to
holding my breath in his presence,
I don't think he noticed me
fading away.

-k.w//Fading

His hands brushed across the open air. He sighed, letting his lungs fill with the night.

"The earth will be my canvas, so long as the sky is eternal."

And so he fell into the darkness,
Until he became a cluster of stars.
The masterpiece he sought.

Love your skin
Laced with scars
Forgive your bruises and kiss every mark
Be gentle when they start to heal
Like rain after drought
Let yourself feel

His eyes were like honey
She yearned for something sweet