under the ruby
speckled tree
hours passed
as our past
spilled out before us
random shapes
saw growth
unravel
as strange
as what we have become
soaked in sun-drawn salted dew
so few
I had come to know
softened smiles
would crumble walls
as tall as mountains
exiled
in forgotten flesh
that forged anew
toward the crimson dawn
in sacred solitude
we held forever
ever knowing
nothing more
than love’s gentle cradling
kissed by a fallen gem
now stained
the hues of human
sacrifice
every loss we suffered
shone through
this crooked canvas
as covert cries
wisdom watching
as we wept
vivid breaths
that stilled the air
in wintry wafts
of stolen strength
this lengthy load
now turns languid
Max, or Not 