Ink & Shadows: The Words of Osiris j Reapor

Moonlight

A grin touched his lips as he studied me.

“I can make all that suffering end.”

He poured out two shots and held one to the light.

“Tonight, let me be your friend.”

I stared at the glass in the moonlight

The liquid a pale emerald hue

And there in its depths for a moment,

I swore that I saw only you.

“You’ll forget her name and her laughter,

The color and shape of her eyes,

Love is the weight that is crushing you,

Drink, and that love inside dies.”

I reached for the glass in the moonlight,

My fingers curled tight around fate.

The devil sat still without speaking,

Certain that grief would not wait.

I lifted the drink to my lips then,

But paused just before taking flight.

The scent that rose up from the glass

Was her hair on a cool summer night.

My hand started trembling around it,

The room seemed to fade from my view.

For all that the devil had promised,

I found I still wanted you.

I set down the glass in the moonlight.

The devil just nodded and sighed.

“Most choose the drink,” he said softly.

Then stood, tipped his hat, and replied,

“The pain that you carry will linger.

The nights will still cut like a knife.

But sorrow is proof that you loved her,

And love is the price of a life.”