"Violet"

.

You are my plum-cheeked princess,

the one who tugs at my heart.

I have loved you since I met you—

your two long chestnut braids,

the Virgo who meekly turned to smile.

.

I love you as I do blue smoke, heavy musk,

and hot lake water. Because of you

I know the taste of reverie, of passion,

fantasy and myth. You have taught me

secret things, dark magic, and wicked pleasure

through a veil of innocence.

In this way you are like a reoccurring dream—

faint, yet familiar, fragile and distant.

.

I never want the twinkling light in your eyes

to turn off, or the gem inside your chest

to shatter, or fade, or turn to ashes.

I never want you to kiss the jasmine

with poison on its petals.

.

Stay with me always, ageless,

under the quiet black quilt of night sky.

Let the fireflies be our lanterns

through the mists along the grove.

.

You must know by now

that I love you, and

I can't exist without you.