I remember the bay where we met
The white sand beaches
Surrounded by black cliffs
That rose like prehistoric monoliths
The skeletal remains of dead Gods
Water the same color as your eyes
Blue and green, with flecks of lavender
You wore a red sun dress
With orange flowers clustering at the hemline
And around the swell of your right breast
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We gathered pebbles together in a bucket
The cheap plastic kind that children use
To shape castles and forts out of clumps of wet sand
We searched in an easy silence
Our bodies translated the language of our hearts
Into palpable moments inexpressible by words
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Everything was a little more urgent
Knowing that we were on borrowed time
We spent our nights making love
Bodies stuck together with sand and humidity
Every kiss tasted of salt and strawberry lip gloss
Like animals controlled by the phases of the moon
We grew more ravenous as the eclipse passed
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We spent our days amongst zen stones
Worn smooth by the elements
My heart weighed in your pocket
Like one of those polished rocks
Fatal contours eroded by your caressing fingertips
My past sunk to the bottom of the timid waters
And we trampled it down with our feet
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It was August when our summer ended
With concealed tears and unspoken goodbyes
The oceans that drowned our hearts
Deeper than the water of the bay
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My heart has grown vicious again
Without you to smooth away the edges
A heavy black paperweight
That I keep on my desk next to your photograph
The fragrance has become stale
Less like the fresh salt water and more like damp earth
Someday I’ll return it to the beach but for now it still carries
The impression of your loving hands
mindlovemisery 