Embers are all that remain

Memories reflected in his eyes illuminated by his rage

As hope vanishes

crushed by the weight of truth

love is an unforgiving mistress

who will strangle its victim

Sucking out life

When the wrong partner is chosen

her crumbling foundation

seems to strangle her heart;

there's a reason they call

your ribs a cage.

they've burned her soul;

it's tarnished but lovely;

if you take a peak in the dark,

you can see the embers rage.

and the tiger inside is

clawing to come out,

he's being crushed and under-fed.

sometimes she fears

he might vanish;

as her heart becomes bigger

while it's filled up with dread.

The uniform neck ties were strangling but his secret smile she could sink in, planting affectionate warmth in her eyes; twinkling.

Her hair the colour of illuminating embers, she was lovely; perfect, had a secret crush on him too, he was worth it.

One day they vanished, abandoning orbiting planets.

By Paul David B

lovely lacerations around her throat, strangling the child she used to be. smoking her out, embers evaporating into her eyes, vanishing; vanquishing, the kid inside. laughter no longer plays against those lips; instead young men without names dance across her hips, and yet the smell of their aftershave gives them away. her pupils have taken over her eyes, illuminated by her scorched soul. nothing is the same. she no longer sees roses erupting from other's lives; she sees the daggers that lurk inside their sleeves, ready to crush any resemblance of her dreams.

The flowers that you crushed

Still sit on my doorstep,

Wilting,

A fragment of what they were...

The love we had

Was illuminated by a

Candle of a thousand souls,

But it's vanished,

A fact you don't know.

Our fire is nothing but embers.

Her fire is almost out

Embers glowing weakly

Illuminated only by her hope

That something better

Will come along

But her love and dreams are

Strangled by her fear

Her anxiety and

Panic crush her hopes

Make all joy vanish

Disappear

Crushed under the weight

Of her venomous mind

Stressing over every detail

She is all alone

But at least she is still alive

She has not given up yet

Thin white wisps

Of smoke escape my lips

The climbing tendrilled casualty

Of embers smoldering casually

Though illuminated by the glow

You'd be hard pressed to know

The softly curving angles

Of my throat are being strangled

Planning ahead never was my style

So I make loving you worth while

Though the distance crushes me

I struggle forward resolutely

Through every hardship and trial

I'll breathe smoke through a smile

Hoping it will persist instead of vanish

There's a fine line between hopeful and foolish

There I was, standing in the middle of a dance studio.

My second nature and language is the one of rhythm, movement, and pure talent.

My heart, a giant ember of pure genius, tells me how to move and what to do next. So, this room, full of mirrors and newly polished hardwood floors, illuminated the beastly character within me.

This beast I speak of, never leaves. He screams, he scrapes at my soul until I do a full pirouette. I spin, spin, spin, until he has crushed his anger down to small eminent light years that never existed.

The love of this room strangles me until I have no choice but to fight back.