5 things you should know:

1. Clouds shift through me whenever you breathe;
They whisper water vapour into my
fractured bones and swirl strangled spots onto
my ruptured skin. With arms stuffed from watered
down hail and diluted wind, I can feel
their breeze on the inner folds of my knees.

2. The trees sway lower whenever you speak;
Autumn leaves play childhood card games while they
swish-swoosh in sync to your vowels and beats.
They pop and lock to the uneven speech
running through your teeth, as your tongue fails to
secure them in your lips’ cherry knot grip.

3. Stars soar higher whenever your eyes blink;
11:11 heartbeats shroud me
in hibernation as the moon glistens
in the shining afterglow of falling
meteorites. The night sky embraces me
in a never-ending dream of quiet.

4. Mirrors reflect light whenever you sleep;
My image ripples in response to your
soft snores and twitching toes. The blankets move
in skips along the ocean, and my arms
ache to swim in search for island treasures.

5. Clouds allude me of feathers but leave me
in peace when I scratch for comfort. Autumn
leaves erase their presence on contact with
me. Stars escape their cages when no one
thinks to see. The song of dreams erodes me
into a ceramic vase of chopped rose
stems and gardened cactus leaves. Hidden gold
are unspoken wishes and (what if)’s left
dripping on the tips of my swollen lips.

— 5 things you should know: | 23/09/2018 [A. Jia]