I don't have anything to hold
you to me.  No picture or voice.
Do not go, but turn
if you feel the draft of your
name brush against you.
Know that it is I who sent it.  

I am a listener these days.
Listening for your voice
that called my name.

I do not publish you but
gently unscroll the days,
those summer days, so
short, when you said

forever.


Caroline Shank

i want to stain your neck with technicolour kisses
and bask in the feverish glow of our uneven breaths.

i want to trace flowers in your shivering skin with my tongue
and watch them bloom to life when graced with my delicate touch.

i want to fill your mouth with whispers of want
and empty your lips of any other beg besides my name.

i want to unravel you like a ribbon with feathery fingers
and catch you in my arms like a parachute.

i want to splay myself out against you,
spread across your heart like a knocked jar of ink -
scrawling my words for me in a permanent embrace -
and unscroll my map of hidden places and awaited spaces for you.

i want to cover every inch of you and use
every bit of me for you. i want to
love you. i want you to
want me.

We stood on the flowerbeds
rooted in my ripe, velvet spine
We danced in waves of milky lilac,
the world was yours and mine.

For once, my mind was serene
although I heard a tiny whisper.
A whistle-blower distorted and mild;
I think you drowned her in the river,

Striking tapestries unscroll from your lips,
blindly shedding colours as the leaves fall
Lies were tucked snug under your tongue
and so was I, (it gets chilly after all),

You liked to pace ahead,
in a rush to build a promised fort.
I trudge behind you, stitching our skin-
a needle too dull, a thread too short

Thumbs hooked in my sunken stomach;
a snack for every time I strolled astray
but you were laced around my throat,
and so my hunger seemed to stay,

I drank from your stretched-out palms;
I waited for the day that it quenches me.
But a blade of grass in that barren patch,
is all that I will ever be

We went for these walks so often,
(I might as well have walked in all fours)
we danced in waves of milky lilac,
the world is only ever yours

                               a.r.

In the realm of endless possibilities, I stand,
Yearning for a life of purpose, hand in hand,
No longer content with mere distractions,
I seek a path that ignites my passions.

I cast aside doubts, fears, and hesitation,
Determined to turn dreams into realization,
No jest or jesters in this sacred quest,
I set sail on this voyage, giving it my best.

With unwavering resolve, I take the lead,
A captain of my destiny, fueled by a fiery creed,
Aboard this vessel, I embrace the unknown,
Charting a course to a destiny yet unshown.

Through turbulent tides and stormy seas,
I navigate with courage, the wind as my keys,
The sails unfurled, catching hope's sweet gale,
As I steer towards horizons where dreams prevail.

In the voyage of life, I find my devotion,
In the pursuit of purpose, a newfound potion,
I leave behind the shores of complacency,
Embracing a future filled with audacity.

So, let the waves crash and the currents sway,
I'm determined to make it through, come what may,
For within me burns a passion, fierce and true,
A catalyst for change, a force that will breakthrough.

No more wandering lost, seeking a new start,
I've found my calling, deep within my heart,
With every beat, it whispers a hopeful plea,
"Embrace this journey, and set yourself free."

So, onward I sail, a soul reborn,
With dreams as my compass, fears torn,
For I've chosen to live, to take control,
To write a story of triumph, forever unscroll.