starry nights in manila by Fray Narte

the stars weep over all the terrible ways i have loved you —

dress you in their light caught

in my absinthe kisses and cigarette daydreams, the song —

over the way i empty my veins, disentangled,

washed inside out and wrung dry of water and blood

to hold your bones together —

kiss you, break me, leave me

burning and trapped in a lantern room; watch me

sink ships to come back to your arms;

you've always waited

and they all still weep and fall

over all the terrible ways i'll still love you

long after they die.