Your

body

reads

like

a

map

I

follow

your

ink

like

roads

leading

to

your

stories

roses

never given

Medusa

seducing

they

wind

around legs

and arms

twisting

and

teasing

roads

through

valleys

and

leafy

forests

Walking

tripping

over you

like a

root

you brought

me

to my

knees

wondering

why I

stumbled

I

cleared

away

debris

and

studied

you

your

roots

led

to your

trunk

and

there

you

were

above

me

sturdy

green

and

spanning

the

heavens

shading

me

from

rain

and

sun

protecting

me

from

a

harsh

world

Step

outside

you

called

look to

sky

see

me

smiling

at you

I

see

April’s Moon

it’s

me

you

said

me

glowing

for

you

Silence

was

once

a

respite

from

laughter

or

passion

now

it

hangs

between

us

heavy

wet

blankets

we

both

say

words

trailed by

elipses

this

silence

is

deafening

like

the

howls

of

the

damned

in

hell

We

drove

to the

end

barricaded

it

stopped

no more

street

just

land

stepping

from the

carriage

we

stand

knowing

that

what

brought

us

here

cannot

take

us

there

if

there

is

where

we

wish

to

go