by Jessica Kraker
And when it came down to the final round, the sun already low in the sky,
painting the arena in swaths of red like a bloodbath,
you and I stood heaving
breaths rattling
out from bruised lungs hidden beneath broken ribs,
on opposite sides of a battle most would call
pointless
but which you called a necessary evil
and I called love.
For a moment the sun was in your eyes and you were in mine
illuminating the moment.
And like the sky throws down the sun
at the end of a long day
I threw down my spear, my shield
my heart.
And let you love me in the fading light.
