Pained breath laced the air
Drenched my lips factory blue
Hair in brittle cracklings
Fire gone out

Imagine, imagine. Look, it’s flickering. Real light from fireflies, safe in a jar.

Yet here I stand
in a barbed wire fairy ring
Snow balanced on lashes
Tiptoe in pause

Ashes, ashes, round rosy once more.

And I think to myself
(what a wonderful world)
of the warmth of your fingertip
doilied with ice

So happy, so happy. No hint of mistletoe here.

But winter un-ended
The sun crisped the snow
Mist wreathed the ice
Clear droplets caught fire

It’s my fault (in wonder), it always has been.

Then you shattered my eyes
kaleidoscope slivers
spilling down to asphalt
lackluster in dust

Cold tastes acidic, like secondhand smoke from a tattered cigarette hanging from his lips.

Shackled me to wire
ground out my fire
chopped off my hair
painted my lips


You looked just like me. One, Two. One, Two.


What I wouldn’t give
I’ll smile one last time.
What I wouldn’t wish for.
Look at the fireflies.
Can you see me now?

*Just for you.