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 1179° 
Dom
Mirrors broken,
Fractions splitting,
Ever finely,
Watching secrets,
Flowing through me,
Ever asking,
Who am I?

When I can’t even see—
Me anymore
I don’t even dream—
Anymore.

Falling headfirst into the light
So bright it burnt my eyes,
In a dream or was it life?
Embattled with the ruse,
I could abscond with all the rules
A ravaging abuse obtusely used
As I drained away my youth.

Barreling though what I knew,
A misery of sorts,
Traumatic tendrils grip like anchors
The pills were my only resource
A numbness to pick up my sword
Dangled over head, Damocles
Striking down my enemies.

But bridges burnt,
Was a double edged blade
Because even the ones I loved
I could no longer save
As this anger exploded
Like a sun above us shining
Nuclear and blinding
I scorched ties and dried out salves
Until healing was impossible—
Lest you cauterized the wound.

Now as embers cool
And coals burn off to ash
Brittle like aching bones,
Brutal as hindsight,
Where loneliness creeps
And the current of thoughts
Flow like rapids concordantly
Drifting through the steepest fog
Where the mind divides,
I care only for clarity and intimacy
To feed this malnourishment.

It’s been so hard looking through time,
With eyes of a fly,
As these mirror shards remind,
I have never been sure.

Am I an artist?
                  Am I a poet?
                                     Am I a photographer?
            A philosopher?
                              Am I a fighter?
          A vigilante?
                             Am I human?
                   Am I a demon?
      Am I a lover?
                                   Am I anti life?

I stare blankly into a deep black emptiness.
Singing a forced fed lyric.:
Who am I?
Intentionally disjointed. The title is a computer command. When entered in command prompt it tells you what user id you’re using…thus telling you who you are. ©️ Dominick B
 740° 
F Elliott

Not all was lost
to the beast,
nor to the silence
that sheltered it.

For deeper still,
beneath the rubble
of unspoken years,
the child remained.

Bruised, yes..
but not extinguished.

Hidden;
but not erased.

A breath still moved,
a spark unclaimed
by the darkness.

The beast does not feed  only
on the wound itself,
but on the hollow it leaves behind.

Gaslighting, scapegoating, silence..
all these are its masons;
carving out a chamber in the soul
where the beast makes its abode.

There, in the aloneness of the child,
it feeds from within,
claiming the silence as its fortress;

the emptiness as its throne.

And the door creaks again..
not always the first door,
   but another..
a new figure cashing in
on the void they sense.

Their entry feels like company,
   even love,
yet it is only continuance...
a repetition of the first harm.

Worse still when the creak
is painted with a smile,
when exploitation wears
the mask of care--

   The abode deepens,
    and the beast settles further
   into the soul.

Yet the fortress cannot hold forever.
The silence cannot smother forever.
Even the grave-dirt of denial
cannot bury it whole.

For the child endures
where walls collapse,
and the smallest cry
outlives the loudest lie.

The beast devoured much,
but not all.
And in what survives,
the future breathes;
a testimony,
a beginning,

    a voice
    that will not be hushed.



The beast wears many faces. Sometimes it is grotesque and obvious.. leering in the open,
like Tull’s Aqualung.

Other times it arrives clothed in warmth, with a smile painted on as if it were love. Yet both are the same door creaking open, the same continuance of harm.

Be wary, child.
Not only of the door,
but of the smile.

Every silence, every false welcome,
lays another stone.
This is how the abode is carved.
This is how the beast digs deeper..


"Aqualung"
(Excavator of the Unholy Abode)

Sitting on a park bench
Eying little girls with bad intent
Snots running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes,
hey, Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly ******* run,
hey, Aqualung

Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken lung,
oh, Aqualung

Feeling alone, the army's up the road
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea
Aqualung, my friend,
don't you start away uneasy

   You poor old sod,
   you see it's only me

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze
When the ice that clings
on to your beard
It was screaming agony?

Hey and you ****** your rattling last breaths
With deep-sea diver sounds
And the flowers bloom like
Madness in the spring?

Sitting on a park bench
eying up little girls with bad intent
Snot is running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes,
hey Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly ******* run,
hey Aqualung

Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck,
hey Aqualung

Oh Aqualung

https://youtu.be/ZHO3vBn_cfo?si=IGwlRY7xoVuOlx6V

And yet, the child remains.
Scarred but unclaimed,
enduring as the witness
the beast can never consume.

The child endures
The cry is not silenced

Even scarred, it remains the truest witness.

Even on a lowly poetry site, some of those most popular could be the greatest excavators of the abode.
Be wary, beautiful child

xoxo
 671° 
onlylovepoetry
"Poetry is confession, obsession, reflection.
Empathic minds, valentines, hope divined.
It's a kiss, whispered sweetly" (2)



who needs challenges, commissions.
kicks~in~le butte~
when heaven heaves rains, one downs tall orders in
short shot glass verses, which glossed over at its
first communion(cation,
come back
months later
to subtract - another
poem from where it lay dormant
on the doormat
of my sub~sub~terranes
of my diluted subconscious au natured dry & rugged terrain

a favored poet,
a secretive admirer,
whoa~whose~her truthful name, I've yet to uncover,
but whose one true soul inspires me repeatedly,
ana~lyrically licks me into
dredging from me
un begrudgingly

and yet,
another love poem,
she herself wrote when elixiring (commentating (3))
'pon one of mine,
a long long time ago

Alas!  Alack!
unnaturally immodest,
one concedes,
when obviously a Super~Woman!-cedes,
seeds in three verses, what I  could never unknot
nor uncover

so I requite & requote with
unlabored pleasure
miz patty m's
primary terse verse,
neither secondary & never tertiary,
her absolut perfect mixed drink
defining, summarizing,
the essences of love

"(Love) Poetry is confession, obsession, reflection.
Empathic minds, valentines, hope divined.
It's a kiss, whispered sweetly"


I concede, in deed,
and in writing,
I know nothing,
of writing
of only love poetry
and all the great predecessors,
elsewhere lyricized, named and tabulated,
by yet another women, (1)
I will take my weary words elsewhere,
and if
perhaps,
disguised as a woman,
perhaps my verbal herbal insides,
my turgid insights,
will be shorter, sweeter,
but never more completer
than those of,
who can syncopate it
in rhyme
and the naming of my
predilection,
by mid~initial,
will give a measuring
of solace, and
a kiss and hug from my mirrored selfie,
having been unsuccessful at
my one chosen endeavor,
only love poetry,
adieu,
I, due,
utter
Nevermore
                    M>
(1)
see https://hellopoetry.com/poem/5134157/whispers-of-the-romantic-soul/
(2)
patty m
(3)
pompous stupid word; use commenting
~
September 2025
HP Poet: irinia
Age: 47
Country: Romania


Question 1: We warmly welcome you to the HP Spotlight, irinia. Please tell us about your background?

irinia: "I live in a country with a difficult past, I have complicated memories of the XXth century. I studied foreign languages and literatures (English & German), British cultural studies, psychology and psychotherapy. I worked as a cultural journalist for some time, and as an English teacher for a decade. I love working as a psychotherapist, it is a humbling honour to get to know and be with people in a profound way. I am the mother of a spirited teenage daughter whom I am in love with. I am a highly sensitive person which is a blessing and a curse because I am often times moved by life in an intense way. I am from the Balkans so my taste in everything is rather eclectic."


Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

irinia: "I wrote my first poem as a teenager, and I’ve been writing since then discontinuously, whenever poetry came to me. There were periods of intense writing and also long periods of silence. It was difficult to see myself as a poet until relatively recent. On HP I've been since 2010 or 2011, I am not sure, I have to check my first post. This site and the community supported me to keep writing. I owe to HP the existence of my book of poetry called "Psychic retreat" published by Europe Books last year. Thank you Eliot for keeping HP running and thank you to all of you for keeping HP alive. I witnessed this community changing, growing, descending into chaos sometimes. I enjoy the diversity of styles."


Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

irinia: "I am inspired by everything that moves me, especially people, stories, the natural world, history. Poetry simply happens to me, words and images start pouring down in my mind, so I just write them down as they come. I don’t rewrite or work with conscious intention on any poem because I don’t have time to be a „serious“ writer, who has the discipline and toil of writing. At some point poetry started coming to me in English, perhaps because my readings were mostly in English. I think poetry is a way of containing or transforming my emotional processes as for me poetry happens in the presence of feelings, and I am also observing a tendency to be more reflexive or abstract as if when I write there is a witness inside. I feel more and more that I am interested in writing about politics and society too."


Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

irinia: "It means a lot, I am afraid it is difficult to capture it into words. The poetry of other people touches me deeply, fascinates me, gives me the feeling of awe. It was my constant companion, it was a mirror, I found out about myself through resonance with other poets. Poetry captures the depth of life, our dreams, struggles, aspirations, our joy and our pain, creates alternative worlds from words. It captures the pulse of inner reality while it also mystifies it. It is a space of freedom and play for me. It is a protest. It is an attempt at destroying and recreating the world captured in normal language and used concepts. It is perhaps a measure of our humanity, vulnerability, resilience."


Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

irinia: "I will start with William Shakespeare as I love his use of language and wit. I love Japanese haiku poetry, their ineffable simplicity is mesmerizing. There are many poets that I adore: Rumi, Wallace Stevens, Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, Charles Bukowski, William Blake, Robert Browning, T.S. Elliot, the English and German Romantic poets, Nichita Stănescu (Romania), Ana Blandiana (Ro), Florin Iaru (Ro), Mircea Cărtărescu (Ro), Ioana Ieronim (Ro), Gellu Naum (Ro), Nora Iuga (Ro), Paul Celan, Mary Oliver, David Whythe, Anne Sexton, Tibor Zalan (Hungary), Jean-Pierre Siméon (a wonderful poet), Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Ana Akhmatova, Viktor Neborak (Ukraine), Marjana Savka (Ukraine), Hrytsko Chubai (Ukraine), John O’Donohue, Rachel Bluwstein, Yehuda Amichai, Nathan Zach, Wislawa Szymborska (Poland), Mahmud Darwish (Palestine), John Donne, Friedrich Hölderlin, Reiner Maria Rilke, Joseph Brodsky, Marina Tzvetaeva, Octavio Paz, Garcia Lorca, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Primo Levi."


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

irinia: "I love art in all forms, it moves me and it bemuses me, it stimulates my creativity. I love photography and taking photos, I attended courses in my youth. I am fascinated by cosmos and cosmology, I love physics. I love stand-up comedy, music, dancing, hiking on the mountains. I am interested in history, I am fascinated by the becoming of the world. I am fascinated by the individual and collective psyche, I think this is something that has left a mark on my poetry."


Carlo C. Gomez: “We would like to thank you irinia, we really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet! It is our pleasure to include you in this Spotlight series!”

irinia: "Many thanks to Carlo for this series and to you all for being here!"




Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed coming to know irinia better. We most certainly did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez

We will post Spotlight #32 in October!

~
 535° 
bitter lover
i screamed till my throat bleed last night
you knew that it was my birthday yesterday

now i can't talk anymore

my voice is gone

and i've gone mute

for you
 456° 
Poetoftheway
early after-noon, she quizzes,
“would I be ok with
skinless boneless roasted
chicken breast, with sautéed
mushrooms for our dinner,
ce soir?”

so smile I,
for it is a favored menu
of pleasure,
from one who has never
presented us a meal
that is less than perfect

later, she shyly inquires,
“would be ok if we to eat
a little early, I have a salon,
followed by an
Argentine Tango dance milonga
tonight and one starts early (and
tango parties
end typically
the next  day?
(no|si, me, don’t dance)

of course, respondez in
the affirmative, thus
confirming our love with the
consideration that veins
out affection mutual

and then I add:

“instead of an hours food prep,
which distracts you from the hour
deeded for dressing
for dancing  motivation proper,
and add a little kick-her:

I love you so much,
would happily consume
your tuna fish salad sandwich,
every night, for the rest of our
lives together, it’s fast
and simple, a dis-less-stressing
concoction, that we both enjoy


she (s)miles a sweetened thanks,
after numerous reassurances,
that our love only grows
stronger with acts of smart
sensitivity to each others needs,
no standard of care breached,
au contraire, meant sincerely,
earning me a secondary
whiling smiling

and this true story is a poem,
has been writ a thousand times,
in a million different tiny gestures,
of which, I am proud

she exhales a breath elongated,
a release of an admixture of differing
pleasures released, and goes into the
night to dance in the arms of strangers,
which concerns me
not at all,
after all,
these  many years,
aware she moves exquisitely
in a dance that demands years
of practice, for it requires
intangible silent of the merest
slight finger  pressures to guide
the dancer what next steps
are coy coming,
and I have stolen this
knot of knowledge,
for mine own purposes,
secretly & selfishly,
employing these techniques,
for most of the time we’ve
been together

this poem of
tuna fish sandwiches,
becomes a dance of words
which is
my specialty, which she will
read in the morning l, maybe,
if I send it to her,
though obviously,
that is unnecessary 😉
as she returns to our bed,
me asleeping, she,
exhaustingly satisfied,
sleeeps deeper
secured by the knowing
that we, are both,
the beneficiaries of:
my learned dancing
practices
for such is

*the ways of the poet!
N.B. this is a tad misleading as she uses only
white tuna in olive oil imported from Spain,
which costs a ridiculous amount of of money, but reflects her belief that life is too short to skimp,
and source of  a major philosophical disagreement that is  now part of the rituals we share
 306° 
Carlo C Gomez
scavenger bride,
she counted periods
before the children came along,
but never suspected
eyes like bottles
beginning to blue,
a tangle of scars
hermetically sealed,
the new order of
a broken romance,
dead love cassettes
in the glove compartment,

her cold and empty
constellations,
like cold breath
passing through a beam of sunlight,
grid of points, pendulums,
the ratio of freckles to stars,
no subtle countenance,
martinis and bikinis,
soft ******* and ice cream,
slight, elusive things, on a beach
with no more meaning,

the repeating pattern of
her mistakes and reliefs,
a preservation of decay,
sustained by the tiny
human fault line
in that oneiric hinterland,
between dreaming and waking,

she draws around the noise
and the clearings,
she creates within that sightline
the way her sadness can feel
comfortable,
an extension of loss that turns
her ruins into a home.
 282° 
Jason R Michie

I am an Eeyore

Trying to be a Tigger

But I usually wind up with

Something along the lines of

"Oh...Bother"

🍯

T-I-Double-Guh-Err
 276° 
Dr Peter Lim
Joy  or sorrow
    ease or pain
    in your mind's tranquillity
    be indifferent
 245° 
Caro
One day
I’d love to be
Eaten, defiled, consumed, delighted in
The very same way
I do
A mango

I want for someone to be so overcome
By my deliciousness
That they must eat
and eat
eat and eat
Until I am spent
And they sit back almost ashamed
At how they were swept away
Consuming me with such vigor
Rakishly, sheepishly
Wiping wet from their lips
And wishing they could have a bit more
 223° 
Soulless
Awaken to a cloud filled sky

Memories of blue hide away

Fire tinged wisps hug the horizon

As countless gods cry

For another angel lost it's wings today

A battle raises; heaven's uprisen

A flash of lightning declares the war

Many unexpected things are in store

As the trees shake their branches

To keep our evil minds at bay

And the tear drops soak our skin
 187° 
Stephanie Grace
I told you that there's light outside
You turned to me
and slowly replied
Can't you see it's the fire in your eyes
Where it comes from only you decide
But nothing shines
nothing shines brighter than
the fire in your eyes
 172° 
Cassie love
Everyone has  bad days.
Sometimes, the day turns vicious,
Making one feel
Like hiding from the world  a bit .


Sometimes, we shed tears,
Condemn the day,
But it's like a storm:
Intense, alarming,
Yet always with an end.
Bad days come and go but doesn't last forever. They are like storms very heavy but with an end.
 171° 
XOS
When I bite into you I cant tell if your sweet or sour
The juices flood my mouth
So addictive is what you are
You are my forbidden fruit

The temptation to keep enjoying you, every touch every taste
Desire runs so deep with in me it almost bursts out
A room of flames surrounds us but we keep dancing
Til our desires are met

In the dark i see your outline and want more
Want to eat until im satisfied
Every kiss the fire deepens
The desire in our blood is never over

Our hair is twisted and tangled together
Every breath i feel makes me more tempted
I run but always return back to my forbidden fruit
There is nothing sweeter than your taste

All my soul is being taken from me by the addiction I have to you
We’ve reached the end of every lie
We are so much stronger than anyone knows
My downfall is because of my forbidden fruit,
you.
Every taste makes my desires stronger
Inspired by the song "Forbidden fruit" by Tommee Profit
 171° 
Nat Lipstadt
its birthplace, its origins, the where the whence,
these clues are inclusive of
sources of inspiration which
are like handholds,

Even,

"incidents and accidents /
There were hints and allegations"
but you knew, you knew in advance,
you,
Can Call Me Al"

eye easing offerings, kindly giving kindling,
to the overwhelmed reader burning eyes,
ease the struggle, hire/higher the insights,
just hints of the wherefores, if the whys so
desperate must remain secreted in your heart alone

you are so right!
the greatest poems ever
go oft,  without stepping stones,
why not mine?

If you anticipate scholars centuries later
explicating your poems, well then, they
most of all, will  need a leg up about your
disco~

graphy
Labor Day ~Sunroom- inspired by conversations with new poets
 170° 
Ray
tongue hanging out
he runs around in circles
grinning
old Jack the Dog
after answering the call
 169° 
preservationman
Firm and steady
Handshake Faith
Life sometimes throws complexity
Understanding can feel far off
Gonna Be Alright
People will see you and walk away
Not understanding how you got through
Nothing you said nor done
Gonna be alright
Extreme storms will arise
It won’t be weather
Your storms within
Gonna be Alright
Rain will fall
There will be some cloudy days
Through it all
The sun will come out
Skies will become dark more and more
Gonna be alright
Praying will seem Heaven doesn’t hear
You will feel the Lord isn’t near
The answer will come
Gonna be alright
Satan will ponder doubt in your mind
You will feel his rage of fire in anger
You won’t burn
Gonna be alright
You need a healing
Total intervention
Gonna be alright
Faith is the key
You will be alright
As one walks in God’s goodness
Your paths will be directed
Wonders you have never seen
Blessing after blessing shall arrive
You are beyond alright
Welcome to deliverance of all time.
 145° 
S R Mats
When down, and
Disappointed
With the world,

Remember

The scarecrow
Had a heart
All along.

There was indeed
A heart within
The straw.

(I know it was the Tin Man.)
 128° 
Lillith
but i was the first to reach out
(i'm tying a rope of words)
around my own neck
if you reply,
(please reply i miss you, i miss you, i miss you,)
don't try to lie
(i'd fall back into your fantasy,)
the one that lines my tears and heart
i am a weak woman
you can walk all over me,
i'll pretend not to notice the fact
(i am the other woman)
**** me off
tell them i'm crazy
(tell them i'm no one)
im fine with being no one
i am no-one
but the other woman
to you
i've cried myself to sleep all nights this week. i've broken my sobriety, i was 2 days clean. i am broken over a two week talking stage thing because you gave me attention. i told you about my dying mother and the abuse i suffered. i am hollow now.
 125° 
Jimmy silker
I'm  never doing it again
I 'm not doing this time
This is the last time
Im doing it
It's a bit of a shame really
It's the only thing
Im fluent in.
 108° 
Max Neumann
Between tracks and lead
By the trains of life
Where geese are cackling

This is no invention
Welcome to the trauma of kindness
It became bearable

Between signposts and tracks
By the cackling geese
In the heart of Europe

No blessing
No curse
Just another page

A locomotive rushes past
On the wings of this moment
The wind breathes out love

Between trauma and healing
Yesterday the wound was bleeding
At the celebration of a child

At life’s track
Where geese are cackling
Here the wind breathes out love
At Life's Track
 87° 
ac
i went thrifting the other day
i found this cute sweater
it looked familiar
but i bought it anyway
i knew i’d seen it before
maybe in a store or on someone i know
but i put it on td
and i got a whiff of it
and then i knew
it was her’s
the girl he left me for
which is why it looks so familiar
she’s worn it before
that’s why it smells like him
i shouldn’t care tho
it’s just a stupid sweater
it’s. just. a. stupid. sweater.
 85° 
Blue Sapphire
​गूंजता है धड़कनों में
आज भी तेरा ही नाम
जैसे खूबसूरत सा नगमा कोई |
वो दिल जिसे फूलों की तरह
सजाया था कभी
टूट कर बिखर गया क्यों ?
​ख़ता क्या हुई मुझसे
जो दिल तोड़ कर चल दिए
एक बार भी मुड़कर
क्यों न देखा कभी ?
 83° 
Lynn Stillman
When my mother died.
My sense of self slipped away.
The world tasted bland.
 77° 
Maddy
First for writing and always
Now for all parts of good mental and physical health
Viewing Nature and basking in the quiet
Sometimes accompanied by music
Petting and greeting dogs of different breeds and sizes
Sometimes with company
Usually alone by choice
In all kinds of weather
Walking
 75° 
Yz Doo
No gravity
Freely flowing
Loosened soul
Barefoot bassinet
Sweet golden sand
The smell of her cheek
No gravity free flowing love
I met myself today
The real me
Deep pool floating under the stars
Her sweet cheek I kissed
No gravity free flowing, deep pools
We floated together
 67° 
Malcolm
A marvelous beast is the giraffe,
Whose neck seems to stretch by the half.
He nibbles the trees,
While swaying with ease,
And makes other creatures just laugh.
1 September 2025
The Giraffe 🦒
Copyright Malcolm Gladwin
 63° 
Heart hacker
There are stories in my chest
no one has read—
pages inked with tears,
and words pressed down so hard
the paper almost tore.
I’ve smiled in rooms
where my soul was breaking,
nodded to questions
while my heart screamed answers
no one would understand.
Yet here I am—
not because the road was kind,
but because I kept walking
even when my steps
felt heavier than the sky.

Some days,
my strength is just breathing.
Other days,
it’s daring to dream again.

And through it all,
my heart still beats—
a quiet rebellion
against everything
that tried to silence it. 🫀
 57° 
Nolan Bucsis
I end up
Where I'm
Going
As later turns
Into right now.

And,
I bought
The ticket.

So,
I take the ride.

Yesterday there
Was supposed
To be
No tomorrow.

Yet,
Here I am,
A child of God,
Given more time
Than I deserve.

Or.

Even
Want.
 49° 
badwords
Stained are teeth, and fingers yellow,
Softly whispered lies we keep.
Smoke unfurls in breath so mellow,
Promising but sinking deep.

Coiling tendrils, soft and clever,
Lull the mind in fleeting grace.
Cinder ghosts that warm, yet sever,
Leave their embers on the face.

Every spark—a pledge unwinding,
Every drag—a weight we bear.
Sworn to comfort, yet confining,
Clinging to a thinning air.
Nicotine is a tightly structured, lyrical poem that explores the tension between fleeting comforts and the greater aspirations we often neglect. Using nicotine as both a literal and metaphorical device, the poem examines the small indulgences we cling to—despite knowing their cost—drawing a parallel to the broader human tendency to accept self-deception for the sake of temporary relief.

Through vivid imagery of smoke, stained fingers, and fading embers, the poem evokes a sense of quiet resignation, underscoring the slow erosion of will beneath a comforting but insidious habit. The rhythmic AB meter reinforces the hypnotic cycle of desire and consequence, mirroring the way these comforts lull us into complacency.

At its core, Nicotine is a confrontation—a mirror held up to our daily rationalizations, asking whether we truly seek change or merely the illusion of control. The introspective tone invites readers to reflect on their own vices, however small, and consider what they may be sacrificing in the name of fleeting ease.
 48° 
paul
I wish you’d reach out. I miss you.
 45° 
Pierce
It’s strange
For people to claim to know you
But it isn’t the truth they seek
It’s the safety of being moral
 43° 
Kiki Dresden
Infidelity (noun) \ ˌin-fə-ˈdel-ət-ē \
Betrayal of a vow. Or whispered otherwise, the first time Coyote tasted the salt of my wrist, when lightning seemed to have waited to arrive. Grandmother would call it shadow-marriage, the reminder that paper rings and courthouse oaths cannot bind the spirit. It flowers soft and fragrant, sweet as mesquite after rain.

Myth (noun) \ ˈmith \
A traditional story, especially one natural or social phenomena. Or in another tongue, to be called Inanna while pulling my hair back, as if the goddess herself had crawled from shadow to breathe on his neck. I laugh because I’m no goddess- just a woman with cracked nails and unpaid bills. Still, myth enters flesh like fever, and we burn until the walls drip with story.

Body (noun) \ ˈbä-dē \
The physical vessel. Or in broken voice, the altar on which every promise is tested. My body knows what paper cannot: the way desire bruises, the way grief leaves its thumbprint. Flesh remembers long after the mind has lied itself clean.

Eros (noun) \ ˈer-ˌäs \
Passionate love. Or named differently, a hunger that follows, like a stray through desert parking lots, its tongue bright with need. Eros offers scraps, sometimes nothing, and still I remain, hollow with wanting, certain one day I will eat from his palm. He is no child, he comes like a jackal-god- wild, luminous, not easily bound.

Pulchritude (noun) \ ˈpəl-krə-ˌtüd \
Beauty. Or carried on another breath, the ache. I see him sketching a body not mine, tracing hips that could belong to any girl at the bus stop. I know beauty is a weapon sharpened against me. Still, in his eyes I find fragments- cheekbones my father gave me, hair dark as my mother’s shame- briefly holy, before the mirror cuts again.

Unravel (verb) \ ˌən-ˈra-vəl \
To come undone. Or in another telling, the way every thread between us shivers like a web in prairie wind- fragile, trembling, already near to breaking. Spider Grandmother whispers that love weaves and unweaves in the same breath. The art lies in knowing when to let the strands snap, and when to hold fast, even as your hands begin to bleed.
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