swear atop telephone poles

for what is romantic love if not friendship on fire, passion in places you did not know could burn and ache with such want?

i want to love, to be in love, to dance around in it. i want love surrounding everything i’ve ever known, whether near or far from me.

i want your love in my hand, to feel you near me once more; the rise and fall of your breath, the quickening of your heartbeat, the warmth of your body.

i want your love on my mind, transcending physical space and the trappings of time; a presence that does not run out, never too far or too short.

anyway, what are hands but extensions of our hearts— this sinew of muscle stretching out to reach, to hold, to touch, to keep close?

love is an inversion of what we once knew. i don’t know any other way to love without reaching the point of ruin and being forever changed. love must be transformative— or it might as well be nothing.

— j.a.

Sisters, as you know, also have a unique relationship. This is the person who has known you your entire life, who should love you and stand by you no matter what, and yet it's your sister who knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt you the most.

This love

Made of fire and gold 

Born of ecstasy and sacred madness

Burning too brightly, consuming me whole

Fully aware I can’t withstand the heat 

I gladly dance into the flames