The Painted Boy

Free Verse Poem by Marley Mckenzie

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I live behind my eyelids, under a starry, satin sky.
Silk sheets, black, sleek,
laid by your constellation.
I sank into the light shimmering beside your silhouette 
Soon I drifted off, without seeing more than that,
I painted you for myself against the horizon of my dreams.
Your image sailed to me with the sound of the full moon.
You stepped out of the sea with seeds of dandelions settled in your hair.
So sure, so slick, you smelled like a wishing well with your arms around me.
Waves grew shy and tides stood still behind you,
my safe space.
That was how I painted you,
out of the drops that fell as I sifted through reality.
Time watched you pass
Stars watched you dance
You sang me a siren’s song.