response to addie

because i trusted you i gave my body to you
petals and skin and all
delicately peeled, open and bare.

you told me (you claimed) you wouldn't stay long,
but in your eyes i saw the ocean's expanse,
(reaching to the horizon, no, even longer)
i judged your waters to be ready, i judged me one with the sea

and suddenly
at that moment
you were astral, yellow,
you were overbearing like a sunburn
(superficial heat, the kind that simmers and then recedes)

embrace upon embrace, without invitation or reproach,
your arm holding, no, carrying my spine,
your roots reaching into, violating freshly tilled soil,

and i closed my eyes, i gave up me, i gave up everything
just like a good girl ought to

and i got lost (lodged) in your throat, between the music and the sea,
i couldn't find my face, i couldn't find the rest of me

you are missing, and with you went my body,
petals and skin and all
just an echo of persephone