Disintegrate

She demands me forward, sensing my vulnerability.

In lockstep to my weakening pulse, I move toward the darkness — its hot velvet brushing my shoulders.

Hush, she says. My eyes flutter aching tears. Her bony fingers work my back.

Under the sea of black I sink slowly, surely. My cheeks regain their warmth as the light leaves my eyes.

A coal ribbon around my neck.

A pentagram in my palm.

A curse in my sigh.

I’ve died. Again, I rise.

In my relaxed gait, I step back into my home, littered in viscera and hope.

The smoke in the walls whispers, “Lady, like frost and fire — reign.”