She peeled off her skin long before
she ever took off her skirt
and I sat there watching
her heart beat beneath her ribs

  mesmerized

  listening to it beat

  watching it

      rise and fall

         rise

          and

            fall

I don’t remember that night ending
but then suddenly
it had been days since I had seen her
and then months

and I thought

I would never see her heart beat again
and then she was standing before me
dressed to the nines
more beautiful than a ten
her bones still exposed
her heart somehow even more radiant

  beating

    rise and fall

       rise and fall

and we danced
and then I could understand
the language of the stars
and I heard each one whisper her name
they were all making wishes
and saying their prayers

she smiled gently to the sky
and answered each prayer
and granted each wish
and then looked back down at me
and slid her hands beneath my ribs
and up and over my heart
and pulled it out

and then whispered

the meaning of life

and all the secrets

the universe had to give

and then in the language of truth and love
she pressed eternity between our lips
and I became

a schoolboy falling in love

an infant being born

a new leaf on an ancient tree

a flower blooming during autumns last breath

an old man lying on his deathbed

  smiling

   looking back at his life

   well lived

   well loved

and then her skirt came off
and my clothes
and the rest of her clothes
and the night felt long and endless
and so did the kisses
and the love we made

and created

and shared

and then morning came
and the sun smiled
and she smiled
and I smiled too

and even now to this day
I can still hear the stars
say their prayers
and make their wishes
and I smile again
just knowing she is out there

somewhere

Making this world more beautiful
with her heart beat

   rise and fall

     rise and fall

      rise and fall