to the stars who listen: poetry

14. efflorescence (a letter to regina)

// AN: This poem was inspired by the f/f ship Swan Queen, however, independently of that, it is meant to be interpreted as the story of a person who was once evil, and learns to become good and to love, which is a very special occurrence. It is written from the perspective of a person who falls in love with the person who develops, and feels proud of their progress :) //

my dear Regina,
years ago, you used to poison apples
crimson malice circling your veins
now apple blossom sprouts from
every crevice of the mirror
Mirror, on the wall, who is the most changed of them all?
all you needed was sunlight
and nurture to effloresce;
now you are blooming, your precious petals revealed in their incandescent beauty,
proof that even the darkest evil
is capable of flourishing into the purest good.
you told me I was the sun you grew toward,
but your strength did not exude from your evil;
it was already there, love, flowers in your blood, embedded in the very marrow of your bones, a secret garden--
I know you, I believe in you.
have we not both been naked? exposing the very darkest slices of our forbidden fruit, the coldest evil residing deep within us?
have I not looked at you like stars? dancing, aligning, laughing?
you are my most bitter sweet heart, my most reflective mirror, my strongest weakness, my loudest lullaby.
and maybe you aren't strong enough. but maybe we are.