THE WAY HE TILTS HIS HEAD TO THE SIDE

someone so beautiful

i saw someone so beautiful
it made my heart stop
my lungs twist
all my organs shut down
at the same time

i saw someone so beautiful
it made my arms numb
my legs give out
all my limbs freeze up
one after the other

he carried such
darkness in his eyes
a craziness that i could never
find the words to describe
his gaze was empty yet so full

and he stared at me
seemingly into my soul
maybe that's why i could't move
couldn't breathe
he was hypnotizing me

but then he blinked
slowly
once
twice
liquid leaked out of his eyes

there weren't any tears
it wasn't clear liquid
it was pitch black
it didn't roll down his cheeks either
it pooled under his eyes

and when he wiped it away
with only one of his fingers
the blackness smeared across
the space under his eyes
the space under his strongest weapon

it looked like warpaint
like he was ready to fight
no
like he has been fighting
all this time

he looked tired of fighting
i wanted to ask him
who have you been fighting?
but he was quicker
"why are you crying?"

i let out a breath
a breath i didn't realize i was holding
i touched the clear tears on my cheeks
with all of my ten fingers
then i answered him

"i guess it's because
i have never seen
someone so
breathtaking
like you before."

- let me tell you about the boy with the warpaint on, he was fighting himself