We seemed to be
words and skin,
just seeking passage,
some part of you
may never return to me.

It could have been
no other way,
our roaring need,
this incandescent edge.

Something opens in you
when longing grips,
clenches around so tight,
I can only answer
the call in shivers.

Even with the knowledge
that I cannot be touched
the same afterwards.

To see you glow so bright
as you sheathe flesh,
my hand still cannot graze
the firelight for too long.

Reaching out so far only leads
back to my own darkness where
I need what you are unable to give.

And the trail is
a river of flames,
you craved to be
elemental in that sense.

For each kiss to just leave
flesh marked with permanance,
sealed with your unique sign,
the sigil to forever bind me.

To ride in an almost violent hush,
merely the calm before
I'm a storm inside you,
electric haze and cloudburst,
thunder to split open skies.

What comes after such fury?
What of the self remains tethered?

We seemed to be
words and skin,
just seeking passage,
your hands traced
along my face afterwards,
eyes searching for evidence.

Proof that the body
retains shape when
forgotten in our oblivion,
as if we will explode
at the incandescent edge
when flesh sheathes and clasps.

Is that what you're looking for?
That part of you that will
never return to me even if
my heart demands you back.

Even after you go,
I try to reach through
the firelight to clutch
a memory of your heat,
back to the darkness where
I need what you are unable to be.

And the trail is a river
of unlocking stars,
you craved to be
embodied that way,
a distant celestial beauty.

For each glow to
leave me wanting more,
flesh marked with visceral adoration,
seared with your unique signature,
the sigil to bind me as yours.

What comes after such fury
if your entirety is not tethered?

Yet, something opened
as you seized around me,
spoke within our delicate hush,
the soft and tender portal,
it could be no other way.

Even with the knowledge that
part of us cannot come back,
I answer the call in shivers
and will never be the same.