A second
Running down her cheeks like melted wax
Or tears
This bittersweet
And had I only known
You
Before this impulse
Borne of ill will and some vagrant breeze
Fleeing into silence
Here beneath the
Voyeuristic oaks
Knee deep in fallen leaves
And falling deeper

And she breathed in sweet
Air of summer
With every Autunm breath
Dying to live and I said nothing
Watching her leaves fall like rain or
Like blood
Bought bitter
Spent upon this stone
And for a promise I would have bled
An eternity
But she could not be more than this

And I want to feel this burn me away like ash
Tearing into the wind
So soon, this burning light bends
Into an extinguished pallor
Breaking on the dusk like a myriad wishes
And she could feel it slipping away
So slow like summer slips
And I could hold onto that last bit
A breath, a sigh
Her fingers cool like wax again
And then
Release.