sinning with ophelia

what if we wore corsets of whalebone and held

oil lamps and charcoal between our fingers, what

if we sang with the birds caught between the window

and the mirror? you’ll take the salt and i’ll take the wax,

full and golden like gods’ blood, but darling, we’re

taming demons tonight.

first, love, you’ll paint me with woad and black

like the leaves of tomes spilled about our feet, but

will you watch the dye seep into my skin like

blood drips from noses to floorboards?

darling, cast away your collar and skirts, this is

women’s work, brutal business.

dress a chignon with rue and violets and string

rosemary and river rock ’round your pale neck;

let the lily’s blood pass from my lips to yours.

i’ll dust your shoulders with lapis, i’ll linger

on the freckles, but love, don’t spill the salt

when you shudder.

candles tickle fingers and laces, but the circle’s

cast and all that’s left to do is dance around

the truth of lust; take the devil in your arms and

waltz because she’s the only gospel you have now;

can you feel the flame above us, darling? whisper

sacrilegious incantations in my heart.

then pray to your paranoia, love, and

ask that we’ll never be found.