Rest

You tell me your heart is heavy and you are aching with it. I reach for the inside of your chest––your body is warm and pliant and alive.

It burns,

It burns,

It burns.

From dusk to darkness you were born, from fire to ashes you are killed.

You worship to rest in the hollow in the earth I dug in the shape of you. My hands are dusted with dirt and grief;

Is this cold enough?

Is this dark enough?

Can you hear my agony scorching through these empty

walls?

Come rest next to my bones and we’ll watch a thousand sunsets collapse into dusk.
Come rest on my shaking, bruised hands;
Come rest beside my exhausted body; come rest under my skin.

The sky is empty and the gods have abandoned the heavens.

Draco blinks upon the vastness of the earth.
“Where have the mortals gone?”

“Perhaps, they have found other dying stars to wish upon.”

Orion prays.

ABOUT

Alistair Gaunt (they/he/she) is a Filipino queer non-binary poet who was born in Southern Philippines. She is a self-taught writer, with English being her third language. Their writing contemplates the queer experience, violent desires, peculiar dreams, death, grief, and catharsis. He has appeared in the House of Poetry’s Debut Issue, and is currently working on his unpublished poetry collection. They may be contacted through alistairgauntwriting@gmail.com.