we spent seven years
planning our route
thieved maps and charts
marked the dangerous spaces
with black scribbles
harsh on the yellowed parchment
of skin and memory

where the edges grew
unclear we wrote
here there be unicorns
because when your ship is love
you have hope
for more than monsters

we packed our bags
full of optimism
and enough time together
to get us through hunger spells
a seasoned sailor
and her eager apprentice
we had a route to riches
in theory

but setting sail
revealed how unprepared we were
the storms battered our haul
the salt of my tears
stung your open wounds
and in the fuzzy parts of our maps
we found monsters
in ourselves