the sun hangs itself in a noose of evening gloom
as we swear to gods we don't believe in
we'll be different  
that you and i will remain entwined
by the rhizomes rooting us
to this earth
and to each other

though the flame of romance may
one day flicker and fade
like the silver lighter in your trembling
half-frozen fingers each time you
light your cigarettes in Lamoni’s frigid winters
we promised to remain enshrined forever

but the words best friend have been redefined
how can i ignore the moment's hesitation
before you meet my eyes or the wings
of carrion fluttering in our chests
feasting on the flesh of crushed butterflies
that fled the prisons in our stomachs
choked within a chrysalis of expired affection

left with remnants
of an evanescent tryst birthed
beneath a new moon
as an intergalactic sky
sighed with bliss at our first kiss
reminding us we were born in the hearts
of dying stars and borne across the universe
to these moments that leave us
transfixed and effervescent

did those same suns foretell
that anguish would usurp the home
i built you in my mind
and love would die on a midnight
drive to Blythedale, Iowa

a reminder that always
is a little white lie
and its inflection denies
sincerity and integrity
in the heady high of affection