"Nec Plus Ultra" (Iris)

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair”

“The Earth laughs in flowers.”

When I close my eyes, I see his, two drops of dark honey. His lips, blood orange, I wonder, will they ever form in the shape of my name? His hair, smooth silk, I envy the wind, for she gets to dance with it. They say he has a garden full of red hibiscuses, they say he admires them day and night. My heart, so stupid, so naive, now wishes she was a red hibiscus.

I have always envied the wind, for I know no soul more free than her. She has seen every corner of this planet and has kissed all the beautiful faces that have smiled at her. She is gentle, but an unfathomable strength lies within her. Invisibly she exists, yet the earth feels her touch with even the faintest breeze, and in her path, she leaves behind the fragrance of a thousand orange blossoms, jasmine flowers and all the spices of the East. But now when I think about it, how lonely she must be, for she herself cannot feel the touch of another and without that, what a sad existence it must be.

I choose you over everyone.

our bodies have always made love to shame

November is my favorite time of year. It’s when the weather changes into something beautiful. Colorful flowers fall to the ground. The smell of pumpkin spice lingers in the kitchen. It smells so nice. This all feels right. Family gathering together for a feast that smells like heaven. This is my November in ambers. Poems and stories being told. Old they are, but hold much meaning. I love to look out my window and see tress holding their red and orange leaves swaying at me. The cool breeze is overwhelming in the best way. Here I want to stay. In the embers on November.

i. there are days when my stars align just for me. my inner cosmos telling me to write about the pain. my inner cosmos telling me to expand the universe within. ii. there are days when my stars collapse. i am made of pure darkness. i am made of pure anxiety— terrified of not seeing the sun again. iii. there are days when my stars rise— like the infinite suns that they are. illuminating my being.

Your words are shallow…But your lies run deep.

I eloped with life and fell in love with it on the way.

A supernova occurs when there is a change in the core of a star. When two companion stars become self destructive; that is, one stealing matter from the other. The result? An explosion that begins subtly. Shifting minds, shifting hearts. The time between when our eyes would meet and when she’d timidly glance away. Afraid of the emotions condensed in a vacuum, only causing the radiation of more heat. Her eyes darted desperately searching for a way against the gravitational pull. I didn’t notice it at first. Until her hand felt too small and her lips too rough. She was fixated in one position and I orbited around, constantly trying to align myself with her. The fact is, we weren’t a constellation. I couldn’t force a beautiful picture in the massive galaxy where my light was dim. Every star has a life span. After that, it erupts and leaves behind an array of breathtaking ultraviolets; showing everything we could’ve become.

Under the shining moon, the desert laid bare around us, tiny grains of sand between our toes, he held my hand and sang to me the songs of the heart, before twirling me around to the rhythm of the universe.