the consequence of long distance at 17

i am polished in whiskey, a
child of a pure and unending moon, i
counted the seconds to disaster and
washed my hands with light
and untidy grace

i beg for reminders of your
fingers once tied, your
eyebrows furrowed in a fit of
sarcastic gratitude and i will
travel but always remain

i met the boundaries with my
eyes, i told you, the line is a
dot to me; and i'm
wandering into the blue to
hurt someone else

i'm keeping myself lit like a lantern to keep you coming
home. unsettled- a burning echo of "thank
you" and i have shared my quaking
nightmares of your unarmed
face

i discourage rhyme
schemes but
have learned the
comfort in your unbending
rhythm

we're a shipwreck for now but
please realize the
desert always ends and we will
drink our own lyrics someday
soon

it is slow
knowledge like a
parachute but i will
drown before watching you
go

we are married in ourselves and i will
be your house until we
fade into timelessness, until we
wake to the comfort of our
conjoined bones

i've wrecked you to pieces and my
glue is cheap, but i have
no more time for apologies, and the
future is my new
truth

so sink to the bottom of this with me until a
roof becomes optional and all
we need is the
heat of our
hand-held breaths