I stare at the 15 year old girl
for the last time
her features match mine -
the only difference was her youth
they lowered her into the ground
I covered my eyes with my hands.

a few days later, I visited her grave
wondering if her spirit was nearby
etched onto her obsidian gravestone -
"here lies innocence in its purest form,
you will be greatly missed,
1999-2015"

all the words came pouring out -
all the words she didn't have then
that I found, that I have now.
I told her that she did nothing wrong,
that I love her, that I'm sorry this happened.
the tears flowed as fast as the words.

and that was when I saw it -
her spirit - dressed in white, smiling.
her weary eyes met mine as she spoke.
"my body left, but not my soul.
he didn't take my soul away,
and he never will. I'm always here."

I embraced her with all my strength,
happy tears streaming down my face.
she smiled for the first time in a while.
I whispered, "I'll be back, I promise."
I walked away from the cemetery,
a content smile on my face.

the tree grew in rocky soil -
now its fruit is decaying.
its seeds fell into
the same rocky soil,
sprouting into trees
with the same decaying fruit.

these trees feel the decay.
they know to spread their seeds
where the soil is fertile.
and the resulting trees
will bear ripe fruits
for future generations.

when she talks to him,
her words run together.
her heart sings a love song,
eyes glowing with the truth.

she becomes a cherry blossom -
blushing, shy smiles,
bursting with life.
her petals soak up the sun,
leaves hungry for more -
whenever she's with him.

my mind is the city
that never sleeps.
thoughts roam the streets -
some with circular commutes.
some glare at each other
some smile, uplifting everyone.
despite the chaotic rhythm,
the underlying beat of my heart
determines the pace of the city.

the waves lulled her
into a restful state
until she woke up
deep in the ocean
with tangled seaweed
around her.

"is this how it'll end?"
"no," a voice whispered.
her body valiantly fought
to reach the surface.
she took a much needed breath
as the waves carried her to the shore.

As his limbs stroked along the bottom
with all the power he held, in slow motion,
there was a case to be made
for the existence of the magical and the occult.
Kaleidoscope webs covered his back
in what looked like infinite rainbow nets
each brushing against a bone or muscle
unseen in the plain light before.
His hair was softened by the absence of air,
each strand fainting at a different angle
begging to be touched
right before being pulled in one direction
of precise yet strenuous motion.
All neglected now was illuminated.
Rarely things burn their way into memory
the way a face can be filtered through transparency,
distorted by liquid out of proportion
yet still so charmingly calm and surreal
all you can do is look away
and then stare again.
And what bottomless greed it is indeed
to wish to posses a moment like this for eternity.

his heart flowed from his fingertips
as he stood in front of the choir.
when the applause started,
an angel only visible to her
crowned him with a halo.
her heart saw the purest,
whitest light as it ascended.
every cell in her body knew
one truth in that moment -
this was the start of her first love.