you ruined
my best dress
spilled the wine
on the snowflake lace
made it blush
made me hush

I jumped
into the rain
red heels
bleeding glitter
on the asphalt
crimson crumbs
to follow home

remember when
we ran wild
in crazy waves of spring
- our Hobbit feet
stomping daisies
in the mud
our smiles
waterfalls of pure
diamond-sharp
youth

maybe we are old now
and cold to the touch
with just a little bit of scarlet
in our white-out hearts

old dreams
are deadly lovers
vain virtuosi
forever tricking
our fickle heartbeats

grand illusionists
hypnotizing lonely souls
feeding on hazy mornings
long gone
all gone now

but who are we
to deny them
who are we
to stop them now
hope has taken root
deep under our house

he had a palette
of greens and blues
and warm
steady hands
- painting the words
of pastel and cream
on the canvas of my lips

he was always
a good artist
imitating love
to the very last breath

he always read
the last page first
surprises
and deadly games
unveiling in mundane twists
- bookmarks never mattered to him

there are grim reapers in the park
their phantom breaths a sick breeze
on the bank of the stormy Danube
murmuring in mutinous trees

people wearing coats
too warm
too bright
buying bread and cigarettes
placing bets

guessing which city
is due to scream today
and then heal
all over again
because
that is the way
- that's always been
our way

we sit and count
the moments
the drops of honey
in porcelain cups
the teeth we broke
playing hopscotch

the jagged edges
dull now
and the flowers
drowning in tea

your pocket watch
measuring heartbeats
and truths
- a wild metronome
ticking away
the last breaths
of the sonata
in the sun

keeping up
with busy steps
of those
left in the schoolyard
skipping the cracks
and the chalk lines

I am an invisible woman
inside a circus tent
- a ghost of a clown
who lost her nose
fading into red
weighed down
by words unsaid

I am a clumsy dervish
whirling
a tumbling blur
forever restless
like a wild curl

I am a shadow
when need be
a wallflower
a hidden bower
protecting me

I am your mirror
your frown
your smile
I am your window
as you are mine