Promise.
i.
to stay, to stay, to stay,
lilacs and lavanders and faerie dust
she flitted and floated and was
no one's to keep
and no one's to hold
and safe in her sleep
day after day after day
seafoams and forests and faded light greens
he scampered and scoured and
crept in the streets
sprawled on his back
labored and lean
ii.
i was perfectly fine trapped in my cocoon, never waking for anything or anyone and being just and being alright -- nothing to worry about -- and the walls smelled like flowers and the days would run from me. the clock collected dust behind a table, still unused.
he smelled like salt and felt like callouses and woodwork, but his eyes were gripping and his smile was something else and there was a sadness about him i couldn't quite put a finger on.
he painted my life different shades and i let him keep me up at night. i lost my sleep and didn't mind.
iii.
i was perfectly fine dying alone, resigned to letting be and letting go. dirty and missing and not exactly alone. just enough to keep asking why, for what, how much longer. the sidewalk reeked of piss and rust and drug deals and fist fights and the hours would weigh down on me and my brain could barely keep up. the stolen watches under my coat, a constant reminder of all the time i was losing.
she smelled like meadows if meadows could kiss. she felt like feathers and silk and elegance and beyondness, beyond me. but she stepped forward and let me speak and when she looked at me, she bore a sadness i couldn't shake. in her smile, she hid the sun.
she held me in her arms and in her whispers. in the soundness of her sleep, she saved me.
