Washed up on a silent shore
She doesn’t wait,
She doesn’t come.
Her violent thoughts of gentle days –
On sprawling sands, I am undone

Gods keep watch while mortals feast
Mouths open, wide,
Bloodless beasts.
Silence falls from lies we made –
On cotton sheets, I am decay

Does she have to drag it on,
Like a bird, I sing her silent song
She’s a prism
She’s a prison
She is poison
Predetermined.
She’s affliction, benediction –
In the broken arms of song

Smell the searing heat of skin,
Silent taste of –
home calls me near.
Heated hands and fingertips –
Across my skin, I am drawn in

Annihilation, craving more.
In shadows, moments,
from this cave I crawl.
Heart beats a tattoo carved in deep –
Revered, adored, unconditionally

_{July 20, 2024}