Something broke at the masquerade –
A desire that split into shadowed crystals
And circled around us in blue light.
They shined through your naïve eyes,
Reflecting back,
Forcing me to remember.
I tried not to get too close
Because you were precious -
Fog on a windowpane -
And I feared you’d disappear.
But you pulled me in your arms.
And my heels scraped the ivory floor,
Etching severed hope forever into stone.

Piano notes waltzed through dim light.
[My eyes kissed your face].
Couples passed us with smiles.
[My heart screamed your name in desperate cries]
But you didn’t listen –
You never listen.

I hid beneath a veneer of
Moonlight and grace.
The wind caressed my back,
Every chill a reminder of where your hand wasn’t.
You led me to the fountain
And told me the name-
Her name -
And I knew then that
No secondhand penny
Suffocating in fountain water
Would bring me senseless dreams to life.

For now, this could be enough.
It had to be.