I gave up swimming young,
although the bite of clorine still clings to me
like an afterthought-
skin soft like summer peaches
and just as sweet.
(Oh-
won't you sink your teeth into me, love?)
One of my first kisses was in the deep end of a pool:
I,
lingering at the bottom
and tracing the tiles with pruning fingers.
Them,
floating near the surface-
christened in refracted light.
(Water fills my lungs now
as I try to catch my breath
from my racing heart
as I look upon your divine form,
so different from the one I loved
beneath the tide
all those years ago.)
Hand in hand,
swim into the cosmos with me-
we both knew our feet were meant for fleeing.
(So why does it hurt now
that I'm leaving?
Is it because it's without you?)
You look different in the water-
so different from the one I kissed
all those years ago.
(Is it cruel of me to say
I've loved you more
than I ever did them?)
I'll trace our love story into the sky for you,
mi vida.
Two fish tied together,
bound by fate.
Even though I knew
we weren't living off of a God's eternity,
I still crave the warmth of your body
engraved in my future.
(Who knew ichor
was so warm and filling?)
The inside of your mouth is so warm,
mi amor-
soft and supple
like the flesh of a fruit
(like the flesh of you)
But how am I to live
knowing I exist to hurt you?
How am I to live
knowing my heart beats
so yours may still?
So
with Fate's shining shears
I'll cut myself loose from you.
(Even though it hurts you;
even though it kills me)
Silver snips shining red thread.
Metal sinks into skin.
Gold ichor spills from holy wounds.
(I pray every night
this hurt you feel at my leaving
will heal over time)
Please, dear-
never forget I've loved you
beyond words.
Never forget how your hands
soft and warm, the shade of tree rings after a storm
still hold my fragile heart.
(Please,
won't you be gentle with me?
Won't you put me out of my misery?)
Never forget
te amo,
siempre y para siempre.
(Even though
I can't be around to see it)
Until we meet again.
(Please,
let us meet again)
In the original myth of the constellation Pisces, the goddess Aphrodite and her son, the god Eros (sometimes refered to by their Roman names, Venus and Cupid) escape the fearsome titan and son of Gaea and Tartaros (a child born out of spite, no less) by hopping on the backs of fish who where then memorialized in the cosmos for their deed. In some iterations of the story, Aphrodite and Eros turn into fishes rather than hopping a ride on them, but I think this version is more fun.
