the beating of her wings. Jonathan Ribeiro

      epigraph

       “She belongs to the future

       To the winds of the west sea

       And the candles in the hallway

       She dances wildly with the spiders

       Sings with the turn of the stars

       And cries amongst the earthquakes

       And ghostly thunderstorms

       Like those that sneak away in the night

       She belongs to the fire

       To the silver and mist in the woods

       To the snow and the silence

       But not to me.”

      -Unknown

      dedication

      To Kayla,

      who taught me how to

      love the air in my lungs

      the sun on my skin

      and the creation around me

      And to Her,

      who taught me what

      love is

      and how seconds can feel

      eternal

      and how

      little

      time

      we

      have

part one

      can I kiss you?

      Yeah, tonight was great

      wish we had more time

      you know?

      I’m free Saturday

      yeah, four o’clock is perfect

      Wait, one more thing

      that electricity when we

      first met

      that was thrilling

      and I wonder if you felt it too

      That’s all, I guess

      Wait, one more thing!

      I also love the way you try to translate

      to words the passion you feel for the

      things you enjoy

      just needed to tell you that

      Wait, one more thing

      whenever we’re walking away

      from each other, I get this

      insane urge to look back

      and hold you in my gaze for

      as long as possible

      sorry for all these stupid things I say…

      Wait

      one more thing

      I wish

      I wish I could say everything that

      came to mind when I see you

      and I wish I had

      the courage to just say it

      And I wish I could

      put to words the

      feelings you give me

      but even then, you

      wouldn’t have the time to

      read it

      So that you'd know

      how I love the

      way you smile at me

      and I love how I

      catch you staring at me

      for a second too long

      And I love how you will

      bashfully turn away

      and I wish I could hold

      your hand and kiss it, too

      and tell you that you’re why

      I listen to music again

      And we will breathe each

      other in

      and know the other’s skin

      and learn everything we can

      from the conversations in the sand

      And that I have to

      write in bed because this

      is where I dream

      and that you are my last

      thought as I’m about to

      dream

      and how I can’t wait to

      wake up to see the real

      thing

      And I wish I could say

      everything that came to

      mind when I see you

      and I wish I had

      the courage to say it

      so at least I wrote some of

      them down

      and hope you read it

      canada

      It was a nice thought

      and we knew this

      was temporary, at best

      but you made me feel

      some sort of way

      and it was good to feel

      in such a fleeting moment

      so, maybe in another life

      I’ll stay

      How could I not want to hold your hand?

      The way I catch you staring at me

      and quickly turning away

      makes me want my fingers between yours

      to let you know I’ll stay

      And I don’t mind if you like

      to admire me from afar

      so long as you’ll give me the blessing

      of exploring who you are

      Because there are a billion and one

      stories of people around the world

      but I’d like to hear just some of yours

      maybe make some with you, too

      But first, before we begin our journey

      on a road neither of us have taken

      I need to ask you

      can I hold your hand?

      To let you know I’ll stay

      saudade

      It's more than just

      I miss you

      or I need you here

      because no one