Vermillion

history

We were a city
built from ruins
we were held together
by bars of love
you named me your sister
I called you my soulmate
we raised from the grounds
pulling trust and hope
with us.

in the old days
our city had no people
we were a lonely city--
I, the queen
you, the princess
you were my daughter
I, your mother.

then we switched.

you, the king,
I, your subject
I worked the city
around
to appease you

I was the fat girl with pigtails
and
you were the stick figure they drew
on the walls--
a passerby made fun
of the unshapely city
on the brink
of collapsing

but you stayed still
you never once wavered
your spirit held the city
from toppling over
you smiled
that huge smile--
your rabbit teeth
in full view
the whole time

you made faces
you crossed eyes
but you knew what it took
to hold us steady

as the old days
turned new
you became me
and I became you

you changed into the fat girl with pigtails
and I was the stick figure they drew
on the walls--

we slept in our city
we hugged in the nights
you listened to my thoughts
but never took time to understand

you let in others
I let in some--
soon, our city was a tourist hotspot
and we learnt we didn't have to be
just a city.

today we are a country
so huge and kilometres apart
you, on the other side
I, on this side

you don't see me
I don't see you

our love shared through the hundreds
and thousands
traipsing these lands

I own an

i s l a n d

today,
I am the queen
with the throne
it's named after my thoughts--
(in your absence,
she strokes my hair
she rocks me to sleep
she cradles my head
till I am gone deep)

we let in too many
I am too lonely

you gave me memories
I nurse them with my thoughts

you are in my prayers,
you are in my questions.

we were only meant to be
some project gone wrong

and

I thought all those years ago--

we would be ancient ruins-

some miracle.

______

©VioletEden

21stJune2017