Rage is always loud.

Always.

But I learned to weather your rage quickly -

I’d had years of practice even before meeting you.

It was easy, because all of your emotions were loud

And I was quiet

And I listened carefully for the silence between

Your moods.

I could never taste the sweetness of

a moment with you

not when all of our nights turned sour.

And I accepted equally the crack of lightnin...

The chill air sat heavily in the old tunnel, thick with the smell of old bat shit, the wet miasma threatening to suffocate Ilara. Choking on air was absurd way to die, but not exactly uncommon in these lesser-known catacombs. Smuggling, as ever, had its dangers.

Perhaps worse than the smell was the darkness. The more trafficked tunnels, the safer ones, were regularly checked for air quality. Here...

Even when the sun dies, my heart remains yours, dear.

The heart, even yours, remains my dear sun.

When even my dear heart dies, the sun remains yours....

I have no right to feel abandoned. I’m the one leaving, after all. It doesn’t matter why, or where I’m going, or that I have no choice but to leave. It doesn’t matter that this is home, has been my home, and I’m leaving with nowhere to go, really.

It really couldn’t matter less, because I was leaving with you.

Until you decided to stay. And you know, you know that I can’t.

I can’t stay, but ...

O what a man is capable of

When he has no fear of consequence

Before he has learned what it is to stumble

And how painful the fall

He has never feared missing a step

So sure that to fall is no different

Than to somersault

And roll unhindered along his path

But perhaps we assume he’s never known pain

Free from fear as he is

Perhaps he has

And his journey is all the more brave

To we, his anxiou...