my love, Elysium awaits us

ill-starred child Achilles, a child no longer, comes to greet you – his rage and despair are things you know somewhat of, while i am hailed by Patroclus, lover supporter, fighter. we meet, pair and pair, and gravity does the rest, pulling me into your sweet embrace as the fallen heroes look on – understanding and empathy rich in the blacks of their eyes. they retreat towards Elysium, but we stay here a little longer.

    it is dark but it is light, an inscrutable glow coming from the distance as if we were standing in a cavern, yet also beneath our very feet. i stroke your hair and hold my hand at your cheek; you lean into it with a warmth that fills my heart with both longing and indescribably affection simultaneously. we’re dressed simply, flowing white dresses, creases in all the right places, and while your golden halo offsets your eyes, my starlight anklets make my footfalls lighter – light enough that should i leap suddenly, i would hang suspended in the air for a moment or two.

    Elysium waits patiently, and while we both know your sunflower fields and italian sunshine are just a few steps away, we stay like this, quiet but not silent. foreheads touching, gentle murmuring, proclamations of love and fulfilled promises, whispers of poetry from years gone by; “they built us beautiful, darling,” “i dreamt of you,” “maybe it was a memory”. you smell like home; sea salt, flowers and you. just you. i breathe you in and i am home.

    you take my hand in yours and guide us towards the light. we’re walking but with none of the practiced serenity of Achilles and Patroclus – it’s slow, drawn out, as if we might lose each other when we are to be enveloped in this perfect heavenly paradise. but i draw comfort form your touch, your nails no longer have rings of soil from our garden, but i’m sure if you want them to return in Elysium, they shall. as we approach, our adornments glow brighter – your halo incandescent, yet it takes no effort to behold its radiance, nor do i have to squint when i look at you, and my anklets shine bright and silver as Athene’s flashing gaze, a galaxy worlds away resting on my limbs. i glance at you and you catch my gaze and smile – squeeze my hand – and we enter the light.

    i utter a last poetic prayer to you, and we are gone.

    my love, i love you more than the sunset loves the clouds.