i'm afraid to fall asleep
to your faerie lullabies and
find you in a dream, just
whispers in my ear.
can you see the
sorrow on my breath?

i can only taste the rattle
of your bones like sulfur and petals,
like poison.
you are wilted and rotting
in my arms,
the decay of an orchid.

your beauty spent, but
i'll still pillow the pieces
of you that I find in my
hair and under my sheets,
against my tongue and pray
you're still warm.