chariot

hello, i said, i think i’m bleeding again
you take me out past the park and we sit by the river.
i am bleeding, we both agree. crimson drops on his old sweater that i wanted to chuck out, but didn’t
and i tell you about her, curly hair, eyes like the sun
and i mention the new him, lucky like a shiny penny
and you look at the river. and i forget that i’m bleeding.

hey, you say, yawning next to me
and before you can say anything else i’m off, tying up my hair
reaching for my sundress
ready to start another day and you want to be more than the bandage over the papercuts
but your silence is golden and i thought my heart was elsewhere
so we run in the garden, you chase me near the fountain
i stop and make a wish. you do not.

we spend hours like this. we wave the years away, loving and hoping and making all the mistakes in the world.

it’s late evening in the summer house and we’re in red wine dreams on someone else’s sofa
it’s the day we first met
it’s every moment that i thought of you
the stars are holding their breath:

and i love you, you tell me in the morning
i really think i love you

the cards showed me the chariot
i take you to the promised land
and thus ends a story.

[Image: a rooftop at night. Source: Dani Relbyn. Used with permission.]