Selene Duskwind (deceased)

honour

remember

the letter at this desk

written with this pen

drafted for hours

ruminated for days

a thought left

to you —

that woman

that dreamer

she is not me

she speaks through me

she leaves love

ambiguous

we cannot help ourselves

we should not need help ourselves

just as heat races through metal

just as an owl sings to the moon

your essence is an elemental force

your body is its vessel

see yourself

blossoming

(( This notebook is placed atop Kyara’s bag. The book is battered, it’s pages have seen humidity and aridity, alike. On the inside of its hardcover: ))

Dear Friend Kyara,

I enjoy poetry. I am not so good, but it helps me think, and keeps my mind from spinning. Writing gives me abilities I otherwise lack. I want you to have this book. Maybe you will like to write, like me.

You are special to me, Kyara. I hope I am special to you, too.

Always,

Selene Duskwind

* * * * *

(( On the last page, a new poem, dated the 1st day of the 8th month, has been set in ink: ))

A sea aflame

For Kyara

Your eyes, darker than so many

nights at sea luminesce

your shadowed soul.

You entered my life, & I,

full of anger & the inexplicable

rage of eons, froze —

We would spend weeks on the ocean,

talking, fighting, pondering life’s

purpose. When I listened,

when I could hear

your words & my heart,

I fell, a bird, and stood as wholly

formed woman, shaped by the Goddess,

flush with emotion & purpose —

you have enraptured me.

for you

The time has come to fly

away from this place,

into Her infinite expanse.

Your moment has arrived:

execute the perfect

will of Mother Moon.

Accept your malleability, wholly

see all things change —

you shall transform into limitless

beings of love, divine dæmons,

pellucid drops of darkness

falling from our sky.

Please, Friends. Remember me; know

low tides soon wash the beach red.

(( for Friend Kyara ))

Daughter of dunes, speaker

ineffable, my shadowed

Friend — why cast this pall

across a life you’ve yet to live?

The past has gone, its people

devoured & left to memory, dead

to the present. Your

time is here, with us, yet

your darkened eyes, fixated

on what was, remain blind to all

what could be. Choose:

die, exist, thrive. Choose:

it is your decision to make.

(( @killerkyara ; Relevant: [ @blackbay-wra ]:

For Friend Kyara (( @killerkyara ))

I saw you disappear,

Like the Mountaintop —

Vanished from sight, you,

A memory, flash

Of an image,

An impression, that

Firm stamp upon my heart.

Friend, I know you

Will be found even

Amidst the thorns & crags

It’s just the way you say things

This is what my Friend told

Me, sentinel without a watch,

sister without siblings, Goddess’s

Eye. I wish they could see, could sense

Respect & loneliness & adoration —

These are what I feel when my Friend

From the void, my Friend from the wastes,

My Friend from the open, haunting

Seas speak to me. They say we need

You, you make life better, bring smiles,

Tranquility, the Goddess’s words. Just

Learn to speak;

We will embrace.

(( [ @blackbay-wra ]: @ephriza-dawnblade @killerkyara @brian-wellson ; @quai-mason ))

Trees here are so

quiet. Owls,

blackbirds call back,

& forth, seeking;

here you sit with me —

call me Friend —

touch my heart as

only a Sister could.

I apologize for insolence,

ignominious ignorance;

you were underserving —

Hear me, I was wrong:

spread your darkness

across my shoulders.

(For Friend Ephie)

When you ask

Do this job, get this done!

I do it.

When you ask my Friend

When will you turn away?

She will not.

We have our purposes

We know them

(But you will hurt us, won’t you?)

We do not question you Others

We believe you are capable

Trustworthy and empathetic.

Now, we turn to you.

I ask

Please —

Believe in my Friend

Believe in me

We are more than you can know.

in the land of my birth

where soil radiates

arcane knowledge

the darkened double came

short

tempered

full of rage

we spoke for hours

my mirror image & I —

cramped in a dark cave

where shadows are real &

doppelgängers live

we approached each other

enemies & left as Friends

traitor of shadow

void’s harbinger

exiled

lord and lady

last sister of

the sisterhood

we gather here

on age-beaten shores

(my homeland:

places

remembered yet

inaccessible)

the air’s scent has remained

unchanged over one

hundred years and from

war and energies sucked

from crumbling stone

and broken ash

let it stitch the shattered

hearts of Friends

bring them solace

lead them to tranquility

These passionate

appeals to your humanity

have ruined me. I am

without family, without a

home, without lovers lasting

more than a night. Afloat

on this vessel filled with people

lonelier than me, people

who have others and

do not appreciate them —

I question why

my sisters have died, and you have not.

When Fortune has

Abandoned us, who

Remains?

Survivors.

We will

Escape Fate, outrun

Moonlight and the Gods —

My promise

Dreamless sleep,

That is all I want:

Absence of pain,

Removal of memory —

The primal desire

For order.

I see you.

(Pitiful eyes,

Pathetic);

I hear you.

(Whispers of

Non-understanding)

I am you.