Somewhere along the line

Our reflections got broken

Piece by piece

Into slices

That floated on the water like sunshine

And we paddled deep, deeper

As though we'd find something more than minnows

To nibble our toes

And you were screaming

Like the absent tide could drag

Your tongue back and down your oesophagus

Because

For some reason

You were always younger than me

When it came to water

And I never believed in drowning

In the shards

That were cutting me open

At the hip

So I slipped my way beneath the surface

Hoping the river would let me join its masquerade

Part of it

And your voice broke on the crests

That licked your thighs

And sometimes I think that

That fragme

ntation

was whe

n it al

l bega

n to un

ravel

and so i

told y

ou tha

t only i

was al

lowed

to dri

nk the ri

ver wit

h my fi

ngertips

and you h

ad to ju

st watc

h me whi

le the m

irror shatt

ered be

neath t

he blad

es of

my f

eet