A totalitarian mindset—
A fountain full of coins,
Weeping and tarnished. 

There was acid in the water,
Flowing over the glittering

Gold metal, ridding it
Of its brilliant color—
Why do we place all
Of our wishes on one coin
In a singular fountain?

Anxiety wraps
itself around me,

like a coat that
doesn’t fit me

like a lover that
doesn’t love me

like a fire that
doesn’t warm me

my cells have their own theories and fruits of dying
even porcelain dreams
when I am with you I enter the tunnel of vision
I can see better what happens with fused from confused
me and him trapped in the asylum of gestures
somnabulists through our own skins
while they are busy scrolling
God forbid to hear the sadness of a time
that is getting darker and darker

There is always a moment
when I wish I didn’t feel
like prey at the bottom
Of the ocean.

Did I teach myself to breathe
underwater, sinking and never
Coming up for air,
watching the surface
Grow darker and darker—
cold satin on my skin,
A thin film over gills,
Knowing I would never
kick my legs, flail my arms
Was it I,
who put myself here?

When he arrived, his gaze sought only me,  
In this room, we danced through memories, wild and free.  
He,once unsure, now a pillar of strength,  
Lifted me gently, defying all length.  

With laughter and chaos strewn all around,  
He laid me on the table, where love could be found.  
Amidst the clutter, our hearts intertwined,  
In that sacred moment, all else was blind.  

Nothing else mattered, no trinkets or gold,  
Just the warmth of our presence, a story retold.  
In the mess of the world, we found our own space,  
Two souls in a whirlwind, lost in embrace.