❝unlock my lips to
store your breath behind my teeth. turn the lock of
my tongue with yours. click.
❝i want to run my tongue over the crevices of your teeth
put your hands on me
tongue my wounds
licking myself clean
i found myself wishing he was you
❝ you tell me about the arguments with the voice inside your head | the way they open sweet, run their words up your neck like young lovers | watch your unravel to them with your palms facing the stars and then flip | a coin of a different currency | you tell me how they taunt | how they questions your confidence | while pulling the threads that help on your hands | blocking your shots | selling your confidence | forcing you to attend pity parties with voices you don't even like | all while blaming you for the misery they left at your feet
❝ it stabs, plunging the knife of self-doubt deeper | slipping into a space between your ribs | piercing the heart you try so hard to protect | your secret garden walls crumble to crush the flowers that have bloomed inside | petals that once opened to the moon, stars | sun now wither to die beneath heavy weight | no one to blame | fingers stay clenched in fists | while teeth grind against teeth with clenched jaws holding tight to | the dagger loged in the cage of your ribs | the cage of your mind is all that holds you within.
❝ when the wall comes down and you step inside the cherry leather of my skin | you should know what’s inside. this body is an antique shop | wood floors too weak to pass inspections | these bones brittle beams with ex lovers initials carved into them | on the bottom floor you will find anchors, anvils | things to keep me from running away like my father | strong and cold, all covered in cherry blossoms | on the top floor you will find mounds of delicate lace | secrets written into their curves, pretty words meant for you | extra space to write memories with you | yards and yards to dress you | you see i collect things, like the lanterns | they sit behind my eyes, keeping things bright when i don’t want them to be | the chair with the wobbley leg | making me misspell my name on important legs | doors that don’t open, some that down close | locks that keep getting broken covered in lipstick of potential angels | jars full of my securities. i keep them safe in a cabinet, a gift | the one that got away told me i could keep it | that i needed it more than she ever had | her name is part of all the filigree. i hope you don’t mind | my grandmother gave me all of these book | every word i breath is from their pages, barely holding together | by tongue, my teeth, by sap from trees i’ve yet to see | the rips in the furniture, well i was born with them | don’t worry, they only share their warmth | when my fire is out of wood and I’m sorry for those days | but on the mantel with always be my heart | a perfume bottle half full from what my past lovers didn’t take | you can hear the bulb pumping steady in my chest | the sweet smell of home and spring | the organ always playing you songs of home and spring | behind the fine china my mother made into these ribs | revel in my love, take what you need and handle it all with care | but when you love no more | my affection, a hair in the back of your throat | a splinter | don’t be afraid to rush in and destroy | the things i’ve kept of you; i’m not afraid of the bull you are | i understand. you’re not the first | see, this blood is silk, flowing bright and hot | and my grandmother has told me everything i need to know | about being a matador.
❝ i've always had a compulsion to touch and feel everything that i want for my own | dragging my prints, leaving my mark | planting an invisible seed, burning trails | before i even possess what i need to reap it | alien seeds which never rooted are still dormant beneath my skin | the scalding trails left from foreign fingers | sketch unfinished maps from the outside, inward | the heat of your mouth | once pressed upon my skin | will burn a new path | using the dullness of your nails | dig, claw | into the new rivers of molten | on my skin | formed by the hot trails of your saliva | to remove and sow your own | use your hands to break the sound barrier on my skin | few mouths have muttered well enough answers that are awarded an entrance | ancient paintings adorn sharp, igneous cave walls | hieroglyphics carved into the glossy black tell the stories of the past | all too telling | for those who speak the language | there's warmth within these walls | some never choose to go any further | sunlight finds a way in through cracks but rarely casts a shadow | this is where you will feel the safest, cared for, protected | a purgatory with an expiration date | go or progress but lover be warned: | egress does not transpire as easily from this juncture | careful steps forward on butterflies and crimson cheeks | will lead you through amidst something that feels like moonlight and stars peeking out behind the clouds at 50 miles per hour | loss of breath, rapid heartbeats, blurred vision are common through these parts | go or progress but lover be warned: | no soul has traveled through the labyrinth that greets you now | for those who pay attention, warnings can be heard | before things rearrange, shift their shapes | for those who wish to know, all they need do is ask | as this is the most simple way to pass | secret gardens fill the nooks of an ever-changing maze | darkly lush and occasionally beautiful | be aware of the insects, thorns | things that bite and scratch back | swings, slides, merry-go-rounds of emotions | that have found haven here | breathe easy knowing nothing you reveal within these sacred spaces | has a chance to escape | know that my secrets name this place home | they welcome yours with open arms.
❝ i swear i've watched you sweat honey
cherry syrup nosebleeds on days
you're made up of coma inducing addictions
❝ the words to elucidate | this deeply seated feeling that you invoke in me | i don't think they exist || i'm consumed. || it happens so often, so quickly | it renders me speechless | before i know what's happened | i'm under your thumb | at your mercy, melting | i forget everything around me | except your arms | that seem to engulf and devour | [with the teeth of an animal] | not just my body but everything it holds | within the thin shell of pale skin | [with a gentle warmth i've never known before] | it's bright and shining | it explodes and i with it.