scarlet fever crashing through blue veins,
ephemeral nights now crimson stained
with ruby roses and cherry leather cuffs
(the sting is a drug but it’s never enough)
and she searches for answers in the shadows,
stop motion stutter and start again,
gently tracing the map on her skin
(can you follow the path of her scars)
there’s a taste of darkness in her mercurial heart
she’s one cut away from falling apart
Words by Ashley Jane
Art by Harumi Hironaka