one lifetime was enough by Yun-Fei Wang (15, Taiwan)*

that night, sparks flew
 
the pages breathe in perfume,
as her fingertips soak through
the edges of paper, interlocking
smudged words incited to be read
 
sharp stings on my tongue
and a mouth full of blood
 
her lips moving softly with words
coldness seeps from the pages
as she pencils within the margins,
yet another life she has forgotten

---

barren land, blood-stained skin,
explosion hummed lifeless whispers
i was the ashes born from despair
 
in the library all night long,
her fingers flicking pages as
she becomes one with the story,
her breath scatters over words
 
as they carried your body away
i ran my tongue across the edge
of the knife you once gripped
wanting to savor the last of you
 
the cycle continues as she glows
her warmth into the next chapter,
outside the library moonlight
illuminates silently from above
 
a hundred years later the first drop
of rain dissolved in the deserted land
 
through glass windows light falls
on her jawline, kissing into colors
of last lines in poetry as moonlight
slowly shifts onto her collarbones
 
blurred visions in a haze, the rain
broke into rivers of torment, cut
through worlds chasing after you
 
elixir from a midnight’s dream
drapes softly across her neck,
in the distance the lilac bruises
almost look like lipstick smears
 
i’ll find a way across the entirety
of our universe to flow beneath
your grave, and i’ll blossom
white roses from your tombstone
 
lips dipped in wine drowning
in perfume as her fingertips
stain another page painted
of phantoms in dark red ink
 
rivers became rivers of galaxies,
i met you at the universe’s edge
 
slowly parting, her satin lips
breathe of venom sharply sweet,
heartbreaks the color of sunset
traced dreams on her jawline
 
until every star had exploded into
smoke clouds, this time fading lights,
i fell for you in the absence of life
 
she sighs as she leans against
wooden bookshelves, fingernails
painting scratches into the past,
her name soak between words
 
a galaxy forever spinning alone
amidst the hollow coldness, i was
the stardusts that turned blue
as i drowned myself in your veins

in another life you found me
on an old dusty bookshelf
read me through, once in a
lifetime and that was enough
 
missing you was more than enough