---

Washed in the pale gold,

skin luminous and warm.

a wild ache

in blood and bone,

tensed limbs

spread and coil.

eyes fixed

on a wall of glass

between us.

in its mirrored surface

we watch our bodies

entwine.

writhe.

unwind.

and there we suffer

the smallest death.

afterward in the stillness,

the petals of a flower unfold and fall,

scattered softly to the ground.