to desire what will destroy in the end

always make sure the deck is stacked in your favor,
when guns filled with tear gas aim for a face of porcelin,
or when the boy with star filled eyes expects more than
a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day-

be ready

to go somewhere no one knows your name,
old, ethereal as you are, no one should,
for the gods gave up immortality eons ago,
and now it's only constant reincarnation-

to find the one with skinned kissed by
the sun, the same you held under your hands
and stood behind, never in the spot light,
you covet him now, with fingers interlaced
searing snow white skin with pin prick bruises

(flowers in winter, where the sun never shines,
no one will believe a girl who left her castle for
the iron cage of the city. seasons change, but
the punishment remains the same: constant)

and white hot scars- spider silk hair
fans out in all directions, a halo to match
the cloak of night, one you wear so desperately
like a shield, but honey, stars can't protect

against the white hot of metal against flesh
and it's only once a year that blessed blood
runs hotter than the stars, but never under
the same sun as before- he's always changing,
always running, never in one place-

(you saw him in the youth on the street,
but no one could reach out with hands bound
and a voice coated in silver- strong, and silent.)

(he saw you as a young girl, skin as white
as snow and a temper to rival fallen gods-)

--

it was always the wrong place, at the wrong time,
and love, i'm always too late.