by Phoebe Au
Loneliness Is the sound an axe makes Against piano keys our fingers once had kissed. Loneliness is a mother's silence as father's flames danced to the music's charred remains. Its ashes warm us one last day in this long, cold winter. Tell me not to be afraid because fear is all we have ever known. Tell me not to look beyond what is already ahead. Tell me not to ask for hope with a kiss I use to seal my lover's lips goodnight. As if flames could catch our burning tongues like secrets slipping through an hourglass.