golden red hues and an embrace as warm as a fireplace welcomed me home

did it really happen

all of it

my feet remember marble

my thighs remember stairs

my nose breathes in the scent of familiar scented oils from a red satin sash wrapped in the paper so many notes were passed on

i remember an embrace offered when the air flowed to shallow ponds in me

names and voices still ring in my ears when I picture the landscape

was I too soft for that place or was that place too soft for me?

gentle nudging foreheads like cats greeting each other

a voice so easily recognised bouncing on the stones like a bird call

a child carried within a soul as pretty as the white gown she wore

long braids and warmth in those earth coloured eyes – okay

vividity – life – seaweed in a gaze – sparkle in that gaze

a witch in the garden

a sorceress in the kitchen – figs and walnuts and beans

a bustle of red through door frames

seems like a dream

i dreamt of a palace in stone last night

i defend it all though it almost broke me

choosing to take care of myself choosing to withdraw

can it be a victory

to honour the dream we shared by leaving?

my music flowed in that place

i hope you heard its echoes still

when my breath took shape in the cold of the north instead of with you

//hunter