Drowning in thought,
I plunge my hand
Deep into the cold, moist soil
Surrounding me
And sigh in relief
For something tangible.
Movement to my side
Makes me turn.
Grappling arms of midnight
Stretch to capture
A straining
Kaleidoscope of light,
A form that won’t heed.
The blackness snaps.
Its talons burst,
Splaying into expiring smoke
And ricocheting back
To wherever home may be.
I gather my knees to my chest
Ready to run
But the blaze walks on.
Flecks of light
Flicker in its wake
Unveiling the freed man
Who ambles to my side
And stops.
He waits without a shadow
Whispers my name
Like an addiction
And falls to his knees
Beside me.
My trembling fingers
Reach his flawless face
Only to stain his skin with filth.
I recoil.
He seizes my wrist,
Fires through my veins
And shocks my wilted heart into rhythm
Tainting me
As I taint him
His fingers lace through mine,
Pulling me into arms of sin and vitality.
Infecting me with his slow heat.
A shadow rises behind us
Breathing our breath
Like a living eclipse.
I wrap my arms around him
Inhaling his smoke and fire
Bury my face in the pulse of his neck
And hold on.
