IV

Winter is chapped lips
And refusing to wear warm jackets
And "you'll shoot your eye out"
And, by the way, it's quiet without you here

There's ice in my lungs and I wonder what it would be like to drown
They say your life flashes before your eyes
My flashes, photographs and swimming lesson ribbons, are tattered and stripped
I am a ghost already

I lie under the Christmas tree every year and watch the lights
Until my eyes hurt and sting
And the soft spots of colour permanently blot the room for hours
And make everything that's drab and colourless, beautiful

One day, I'm going to learn to read my palms
So that when things go wrong I can blame it on my destiny
Because it's all written in the stars
And we're nothing if not star crossed lovers
(And we're nothing if not dramatic)

But baby, you know I can't kiss you when my lips are bleeding