Celina Bagchi '24
i’ll kill you with a caramel touch and bittersweet
gaze, to remind you how momentary
my affections are, how temporary i
always have been. i stick to nothing at all; i am
a whisper in the north wind that blows you
away from my grasp. in my dreams, my body is a temple
made for worshiping you, and your
skin becomes the sky
starred with freckles i wish i could live in
for all eternity. in my dreams, i am swallowed by
eyes like molten gold and matcha, flecked with constellations
in the shape of your name. in my dreams, i am god’s poet and
you are the muse to move my pen. in my dreams, i drip like
salty tears in sun-bleached hair
that you kiss so softly. in my dreams, i am
nothing at all.
you think in the shape of colors that don’t exist, and i think in
the shape of our bodies pressed close. you think like
a wordshaker, newfangled and saturated by
unfamiliar heartbeats thrumming in my chest. i wish i was
a melodic breeze to caress your tired face; i wish i was enough to make you
feel at home amongst the walls of my mind, in the
rooms filled with old books and sun-dappled trees, like
dreams that slip from my earthly grasp and into your
honeyed embrace.
my feet are blistered from walking
miles in your shoes, but you’d never know it
and i’ll wear the scars with pride because who the hell am i
to fight your effervescent glow?
you built a shrine beneath my eyelids, and i cherish
every sweet burst of pain you inflict--it is
my greatest honor to be hurt by you