i. silver tears drip from frozen lids, shimmering rivers down gold-blushed cheeks. flowers sprout from sterling pools, buds unfurled like open hearts. when their eyes flutter shut, heartbeats still, they smile, life blooming forth from their immortal sadness. 

ii. words do not spill from my lips like silken honey, a velvety ribbon of spoken thoughts. they stutter from my tongue like skipping stones, worn smooth from the worry that guards my heart like a sleeping serpent. roses choke my lungs,...

roses spatter stones like bloodstains blooming from thorn-prickled feet. she stumbles through a garden of frozen forms, statues with lifeless eyes and onyx hearts. but she bursts with life, flowers spilling forth from peach-blushed lips and butterfly lashes. so much life it's blinding, like staring at the sun until sunset blossoms across your vision. her hand holds her side, her fingers stained crimson, red like roses, red like sunny strawberries and bitter cherries. she bursts with life, so much that...