Pray

The smoke curls gently around her fingers
Leering around the skin
Pressing at the flesh
Biting away at the soul

Life darts too fast
Hides too quickly
Lies scattered between the dust of the yawning stars
Falls too quickly from the treetops

The candle glows faintly in the darkness
The red fire speckling the tart yellow of the flame
It is a mesmerizing sight
A holy sight

Two hands
Two palms
Lie cupped together
Pressed against each other so deeply, so intimately

The flavor of the smoke begins to fade
Leaving only a pattern of wisps behind
They decorate the palms
Like soft gray henna

Wishes and desires are coiled around the fingers
Tucked into the crevices between them
Wishes are too strong, desires are too deep
But the pale silky texture of the smoke
Never quite leaves the skin untouched

Her head is bowed
Weighed down perhaps by the strength of her own pain
But yet her hands never quite unfold
Never quite mask the wishes she has buried within herself
Only to release them
When she brings the two hands apart

But she will never

Leave thoughts in the comments below! 🙂 ~pc