remarkable world found within colliding stars (micro cosmos of us, forever expanding)

soul ash lends on my skin

it comes from the burning world around me,

in all the chaos of lost breaths

and cold evening nights

before the earthquakes of forgotten years,

I hold a flame of my own in shaking hands,

not from destruction or faded dreams

but dripping from cuts

( blood cells that did not know better )

whispered in careless rhythm

match, spark, explosion

you

forever residing between my hushed breaths

and calm moments,

this pulsating scarlet of red stars

within the universe trusted in your callus fingers

but ever so gentle with me,

soul ash lends on my skin

it comes from the burning world around me,

yet all that drifts away . as I inhale the feeling of you within my lungs

pressing tattooed fingertips with black inked scars

over your chest,

counting spaces between your bruised ribs

enjoying each

dent,

mark,

each beautiful flaw

you are the flowers . painted over my fractured structures

the inside of my heart

turned into whispering flames, coated in heavy snow

never one without the other

the lazy heat of summer nights,

intertwined into the winter’s sun,

slip the back of your hand past my fears slowly

as if learning the outside curves of my thighs,

trace the doubts that come from rejection

as if following the line of my spine

now very gently... please

let your soul glide within still open wounds

cuts,

scars,

many twisted cords,

you say it was so easy

to love my chaotic, damaged spaces

when at times,

I could not even see one deserving string of light

between my tired muscles

and frozen air that always lingered on the cold glass,

funny that even then,

the warmth was calling to soothe others,

unconditional love throbbing in my veins

( soft, but raging with a wild core of something more )

never quite finding release

until there was you

gently, without pressure . growing in my heart

just one day at a time

bringing rain with you,

and hope

the moment we collided . everything changed

thank you, for opening the door and taking my hand

even as your soul was covered in ash

from the burning world around you

thank you