clouds.

003

winter

they call it the end of life, when the creatures burrow away from the sting of icy wind and the plants wither into the earth, laying ground for new birth

frosty air and bitter chills that tempt the fledgling tendrils of warmth expelled from my lips

you are a sensation i slowly familiarize myself with: the rush of fizzy water burning my tongue and throat with a pain i relish   

memories catching in amber of exclusive midnight banters that we have to break to end

each day you sit across from me, we're worlds apart, but close enough to touch

remember when i cut my hair because i was scared and called myself a two?

you still tugged at the ends and called me a two outta two

the skeleton framework of our friendship grows buds.

spring

our shared headaches, stacked in tidy piles alongside regret and fear, pushed to the floor in the caress of a gentle exhale 

twin wishes shine on spindly branches draped with jewels of emerald and aquamarine

spilled sentiment in the purest crystal color turning dark across the pavement, your eyes nailed to mine

somehow words stitch together the uneven seams of old patches, promises, ripped from the cavities in which i ache

another night of demanding vexation's absence is a puff of albuterol sulfate

siphon away the fog, i'm seeing you for the first time.

summer

i keep asking why you never call, you don't know how to say what you mean, i don't know what you mean if you don't say what you mean

the crackle, buzz, grain of static radio silence is louder than the wail of baby birds nestled in the trees

what should be a vivacious blossom is blown apart by the typhoon of your indifference

maybe it was the way the ocean rushed into the shore and waved without relent

i've twisted a cork into the nozzle of a bottle nursing liquid hues of blue

this season is emptier, harsher, a colder biting wind than winter ever was.

fall

the leaves aren't the only things that crash down and get dragged around by my shoes

the wind tastes like the flat, sugary syrup of a drink let out to sit 

my lips are stained with salt tracks, the sting of a downpour's aftermath is dull

the first time i saw you again i dissolved, swirling away, and you watched

finally, the gems of our shared elation are shed by the boughs that once shouldered their feather weight

the limbs of our friendship bear only emptiness and the rib cage protects only the charred remains of hope 

i let you go with the strands of ebony littering the floor, nevermore.