Episode 144 – Chosen

Her lover 
past
opened her heart,
but also broke it.
They can’t be together 
and, for the first time since,
she feels for another.
Maybe not the same,
but worth exploring.

Her lover
past
is not pleased 
to hear of
or to scent
the other
in her heart,

but he acquiesces.

Her lover
present
has the sparkle,
the power in his soul
to save the world, as she 
places the amulet in his hand.

Her turn to restore his strength.

They lay together in the stillness,
his body warm against hers.
Slumber comes, but not for her.

One lover, or two, 
she’s always alone.
The chosen one, 
ready to sacrifice her life 
for the world.  

But what if her power 
could be shared with all women?
Join blood and hearts
to change destiny?

His shiny new soul aches,
the amulet alive against it.
The world is not ready for her sacrifice, 
but is willing to accept his.

Their fingers entwine
and flames flare up between them.
They’ve always burned hot,
but never hotter than this.

She tells him she loves him,
but he knows it’s not true.
For once it doesn’t matter.
He’d die any day for her.
At the end, he’s joyful,
head back laughing, face to sky,
as his body disintegrates.

He lost her once to death
and it changed him,
but when she came back,
it was she who had changed
and he the only one
who could comfort her.

She refuses to feel only sadness
for it was truly his finest hour,
his soul stretching up to the sun,
his last act selfless.

She finds him now in her heart
and remembers how they began 
as enemies, found their way 
through passion, to friendship, 
and a damn goodly way towards love.

And as she remembers, 
women rise up around the world.
Protectors, nurturers, warriors.
Each chosen and ready for battle.

She smiles.

Episode 143 – End of Days

Just holding her,
watching her sleep,
a century of sorrow left him.

Love for her, 
which he had spewed
loud and obnoxious for years,
now lived small
and quiet in his heart,
making him shiver.
Longing to rest 
in its arms,
but terrified to do so.

No need to be terrified,
she reassured him,
I was with you. Right there,
tender and safe in your arms.
Brought back from the brink
by your words,
by your belief in me.
Alive again,
my heart full.

No time to define
these feelings.
Only time for heroes.
They know well heroes.
Love, they know less.

Episode 142 – Touched

One last night 
before battle,
they all find love,
if only in the flesh,
and fly like kites
through the night
untethered.

Feelings float 
around the room
like butterflies on wing.
Hearts that long to sing
but too much pain 
to gain voice.

* * *

After a century,
what he knows
is her.
Strength.
Kindness.
The burden
she carries.
The isolation
she feels.

Walls that surround her,
he’s climbed.
Torn a few down.
What he knows
is her. 
What he loves
goes beyond.

Weary.
Rejected.
She listens,
asks him to stay.
Not over there,
but here.
Close.
He draws her in 
and they’re still.

In the morning,
he’s left holding a note.
Her strength renewed.
Her warmth
still next to him.

Episode 141 – Empty Places

Only see half
what I used to,
but I find humor 
in that.

So long as 
you don’t cry,
I can’t see 
what I’ve lost.

I won’t use
the one eye
I have left 
for tears.

Episode 140 – Dirty Girls

Downstairs.

A little respite
from the noise.
Lights a cigarette
on the steps,
unaware of company.
Another pair of eyes,
some chitchat 
in the dark.

Both dangerous 
in their way,
though now reformed,
they share a smoke.
Words dart
warm and slippery 
between them.

Eyes meet,
but no lips greet.
Just a little respite
from the noise.

* * *

good guys
get dangerous sometimes
and bad guys
can look like saviors 
at first glance

Episode 56 – Graduation Day (Part 2)

Shards of glass dangle.
Walking through memories,
everything fades.

I am your fountain.
Take what you need,
leave the spiders to feed.

The cat’s all alone,
counting miles
before dawn.

Some will be bitten.
Some will be brave.

In the mist, I must exit,
not saying goodbye;
just the slightest
flow of coat behind me.

And though we’ll meet again,
it’s twenty years ‘til then,
and many, oh so many,
snowy evenings.

Episode 55 – Graduation Day (Part 1)

A vision:
Daddy’s little girl,

barefoot and beautiful;
but damaged on the inside,
burned beyond recognition.

If we are to die,
I want to lie with you,
poisoned and fevered
until we find our way;

bound together in battle,
holding your hand until the end.

I will kill to save you.
You will die to protect me.

As the glass shatters,
the blade penetrates,
deep, like the blood of family,

and we part like sisters,
silent, but sure
to speak again,
at least in anger.

Episode 53 – Choices

You are chosen
by the sunlight,
your lover
by darkness.

Shadows like spiders
entangle this lover’s box,
creaking open
to spill your fears.

Old and shriveled,
you hide
amidst the twilight.

He, forever lost
to the night,
is always beautiful.

You lower the lid
and, with great sadness,
walk away,

the only true gift
ever received
now left behind.

Episode 51 – Enemies

The literature of her body
tempts him.

Reading by candlelight
he turns the pages,
but holds his love true.

The air grows chilly
with the smell of deceit
and the dark man
has much he won’t reveal.

Betrayal comes
in a small bloody package,
spattering
across his chest,

as the charade begins
with a kiss.

In the crevices between,
she is chained,
she is strong,
recoiling from the horror
of seeing him with someone else.

Still your girl
always,

but altered.

Not real,
but painful.

Not over,
but done.