do you remember, sweetheart,
the night I broke in
and painted the wall outside rose-colored?
through the tiny window,
you stared at my handiwork
with shining eyes.
though there was a wall between us
I felt you shudder into becoming,
handcuffs trembling on your wrists.
trembling, trembling,
then dropping with a clang
as you exploded into stardust.
in the shimmering emptiness of your cell
my seashell ears
echoed anxious music
but I breathed you into
weightless lungs
and felt the longing of mother sky
Mar 8, 2020
Mar 8, 2020 at 1:55 PM UTC
do you remember, sweetheart,
the night I broke in
and painted the wall outside rose-colored?
through the tiny window,
you stared at my handiwork
with shining eyes.
though there was a wall between us
I felt you shudder into becoming,
handcuffs trembling on your wrists.
trembling, trembling,
then dropping with a clang
as you exploded into stardust.
in the shimmering emptiness of your cell
my seashell ears
echoed anxious music
but I breathed you into
weightless lungs
and felt the longing of mother sky
For my old high school sweetheart. We struggled with our gender identities together in high school but this poem is based on a moment where we felt free of all that.