the phoenix

i wonder if you knew.

about

the

revolution

in your bone-shards

the freedom. from your empty veins

the hope. etched below your skin

the future

beyond your feet.

i wonder if

(and hope that)

when your world went up in flames

you knew

that yours

was not

the kind of dust that

settles.

but ember-seeds

from which this tree of new life

would spring.

[*remembering him]

the dance

and you knew

if we paused for a moment

i'd feel it

there

in the soft lilting lows

in the rising pitches

in the grand crescendos

your steady beat

(heart)beat

my score

the fairytale

it

was

different,

somehow

yet

all that had changed

was that

this time

she

believed.

the promise

remember

last year

this time

when all of that mattered?

think about

next year

this time

when none of this will.

keepsakes

the song was now tied to her

to the thought. the memory. the sound. the feel.

the scent. the

touch

of

her.

and after today. after what came next

he knew he'd never be able to listen to it.

not even the chords of it

ever

again.

the apology

You knew it was selfish when you said the words

and you felt them drop

echoing hollowly

in the chasm you'd created

And for all that you expected the emptiness,

there were still mascara stains on your pillow that night.

But you'd say those words again if you had to.

Because sometimes, it's not about dealing.

It's about finding a way to let go.

of tao and te

they wandered along

winding corridors. hidden passageways

losing their footing

stumbling...

until they stopped

waited

listened

let their eyes see beyond the darkness in front of them.

and then they knew

that even though they were lost,

they were somewhere.

and in that, they found they were free.