A Heart Within Dust

in my fantasy, my lifeless heart

stands up and steps off the page

to paint me with letters,

as I exist within its dreams.

somehow with each stroke,

I look more like her image,

a crimson shadow portrait

of my possible redemption.

and it's taking longer now,

to write it back to the paper

where I can keep it sedated,

gathering dust among the sheets

in the fortress of my safety.