Leave me a kiss in a glass of red; don’t ask me how 
and definitely not why, 
life seems hollow in the eyes, 
seems like it just can’t go by faster than  
need be, 
I am consumed by thoughts that sting and yet,  
life feels holy under the green– 
brilliant scarlet-orange flowers, 
they watch as vibrance is beaten out in seconds. 

Lost in his paintings and a new timeline, 
he sits brooding 
over breakfast in silence, 
blackberry bread and butter pudding, 
what could possibly go wrong, I thought 
as he steps into a sorrowful canvass 
with no color in eye, 
he teaches me not to believe in whispers  
and sighs that liberate. 
I absorb every mouthful without complaint. 

I walk a tightrope to prove how valuable I am, 
cut fragile roses  
but forget to deal with thorns, I bleed, 
I bleed with precision and begin to doubt; 
he smiles in response, 
the sky darkens and petals litter the ground. 

Cherry wine; we find ourselves filled with lies, 
while truth pounds on the door, unheard, 
a rouge imprint, 
broken promises on the glass,  
I leave them on the kitchen counter, who knows, 
maybe he will rinse them clean, 
he’s sweeter than solitude, chaotically concealed 
behind the waves, 
I swim, I swim without thinking twice; he 
doesn’t care, he is just being kind. 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: Pinterest

Loosely inspired by “CHERRY WINE,” written by Andrew Hozier-Byrne 🍒

Posted for “Two Opportunities to join us LIVE” @dVerse Poets Pub