Gold and Trinkets Glitter in the Flame

Fuschias and rose-hips in ball gowns of dearest pink.
Midsummer perfumes and mulled midwinter drinks,
The machair with of its wild-flower brooches,
Pumpkin scented joy as Hallow’en approaches.

Delicious, painfully high-heeled shoes. Shopping sprees.
Beef tomatoes. Wheels of tangy, fat pecorino cheese.
Clouds that mutate into white dragons and polar bears,
Gilted jewellery boxes. Lush, plush quicksand armchairs.

Each garish, teasing colour on the spectrum of this world,
A hundred thousand glowing strings of precious, freshwater pearls.
Unread, unsullied new books with as yet uncreased spines.
Silk sliding over clear, bare skin. Lipstick. The divine.

Infinity, if it were within my clammy grasp,
Each climactic sigh and my ultimate gasp,
Every fireside with loved ones basking close:
All this I would have forsaken, had it been me you chose.

I would have bathed in shards of glass and given you my eyes,
I would have plucked out my own nails and offered up my demise,
I would have threaded my innards to make for you a necklace,
I would have committed any sin, embraced evil so reckless.

I could have been your every comfort, your care and your consort,
I could have been the wide-eyed wonder in the glory of your court.
I would have bid a free goodbye to the balm of sweet heaven,
I would have delved into the dark with Lucifer’s shady brethren.

And yet never will I be crowned by the thorns of your love,
Nor knighted by your sword. Here the push comes to shove.
Instead, I take the consolations of claret velvet and wine,
I will say and do wild things, now I know you are not mine.

Burn buds of lavender into my hands and devour the scent,
Languish in crumpled linen sheets, unsatisfied and unspent.
Relish Hyperion’s work in russet mornings and garnet nights.
Cherish each constellation, diamond bracelets burning bright.

I will let my faith be broken by the nightingale’s song.
I will reject all that is right and rejoice in all that’s wrong.
I will dive and descend without care into the sea viridian,
I will surrender at last to my bitter post-meridian.