A Pluck of Blood and Flame

Siena Vreugde

Quivering fingers

like helpless leaves in a storm

Callouses like stones

Hands heavy with pressure

Heart suffocating in shards

Of misery

My hands wearily wake themselves from their grave

Rising to play

Once again

The soft pluck of a lonely note

Vibrating against the tired roof

Buoyantly bouncing back at me

Pulsing sweet rhythm through my veins

What follows is an engulfing

silence

That desperately pleads

for more

My fingers start to

Dance

Quick yet spry as they travel down a bending tapered road

I fall into a forest

Deep beneath the sea

The arms of the universe finally loosen its grasp

Held tightly around my throat

Choking me

I can breathe

A melody mushrooming inside of me

Yearning to break free

Until it bursts into sound

A voice like burning silver

Lights my soul on

Fire

My hands fuelling the flames

And my voice igniting above

Swirling together in a fusion of grace and passion

A stream of blood

trickling down the body of oak

My fingers beaten to bone

I smile at the sight of pain

Because for once it is my fingers that suffer

An ache that bears nothing against a

splintered heart

Dancing Alone

You want to know where I dream?

Dancing alone on the beach

At a time of day when all the people are gone

And all I can hear are the enchanting whispers of the sea

My mind finally catches its breath

My arms moving fluidly, like falling water

In the moment I feel infinite

As my mind and body expand far past their limits

I watch as the ocean swallows the sun

And the sea and sky slowly become one

A blanket of darkness covers me

And my movements begin to feel static

I keep dancing until I give in to my head

Paralyzed

Cornered only by my own thoughts

With every passing second

I feel more and more alone

I hear the waves angrily slap the shore

A bellow of rage emerges from the ocean

Challenging me

Daring me to feel its power

My feet accept the challenge

Walking forward

With each step the wind became brisker

The sand cooler

Yet I stood unprepared for the harshness of the water

Shards of ice pierced my skin

But I continued to stand there

Until I couldn’t feel the pain anymore

Closing my eyes

I allowed myself to let go

Falling deep beneath the surface

S

i

n

k

i

n

g

My body dancing with the current

I let the tide carry me away

Alone

Until I open my eyes to it all

And welcome the eery harmony of

Another

Who rides in darkness

With a tranquil flutter of a fin

Her sweet call sparking a chorus

Singing in unison

A mesmerisation

Relaying a closeness in the utter black

But then

Fleeting

The magic vanishes

As the being drifts away from connection

And the voices creep back once more

Reminding me that I am human

Defined by my mortality

Drowning in a black sea

No surface in sight

My heart racing

Frantic arms flap up and down

Like a seagull drenched in oil

Kicking away the weedy disarray

Silver darts whizzing by

The tang of salt smacks my tongue

As a waterfall flows down my throat

Filling me up

Drowning out the sound of my yells

Alas

My hand breaches through the surface

Inviting oxygen back into my blood

I float like a starfish

Collapsing on the sand

My eyes gaze upon the horizon

And as a sliver of sun lights the abyss once more,

The water in my lungs begins to weigh less