The fireplace was lit and the room was warm. She lay on his chest, under the blanket, within his arms. They liked to lay on the floor by the fire. The lights were long gone. Flames from the fire and scattered candles allowed them to see. All they needed to see was each other. All they needed was to know the other was there.

The two 22 year olds lay together, intertwined, breathing synonymously. Her nose got tingly and her throat developed a lump the size of her fist. What was she to do when he leaves her? Who would she lay with? Who would keep her warm?

She tried to hold back the tears, but the tingling grew stronger. He knew. He kissed her hair to let her know it was ok to cry. He was crying too.

She sat up and looked directly at him. Her hair fell over her shoulders and across her face. She placed her unsteady hand on his chest and traced his collar bone. He reached for his camera and smiled. He just wanted a few more pictures. He could never get enough.

She lay on the hard floor and moved slowly as he captured the beautiful images of his angel. She closed her eyes and imagined them together one last time. That’s all she could ask for.

The series of photos would accompany him on his journey. When the days were hot and the nights were long, he would look at them, admire them, long for her touch. Long for her scent, long for her kisses.

It was 13 months last time, it would be longer this time.

She sat up and he continued. Every moment was perfect.

He would miss her laugh, her smile, her eyes. He would miss how she looked up at him in the morning. He would miss calling her at 2 in the morning to bother her. Although it was no bother at all. He would miss hearing about her days at work, the lives she saved, the one’s she lost.

He would miss hearing her sassy sarcasm and her witty jokes. His favorite was to hear her opinion on a subject she was passionate about. He loved seeing her passion.

She would miss more. His hands, smile, positivity, jokes, comfort, warmth. His concern, interest, attention. His beautiful mind, his beautiful soul.

They thought the world of each other, and now were going to be worlds apart.

He snapped the last few photos and motioned her to rejoin him by the fire. He took her head in his hands and mouthed I love you to her.

When they arrived at the airport the next morning, he did the same. Wiped her tear, mouthed I love you, and marched away. He marched into her heart like a firecracker, and marched out the very same way.

That night, she sat by the fire. Alone this time. Thinking about him. Missing him.

I can see for miles up here

The roof top is warm.  Still radiating the heat of the day.  The humidity is thick causing beads of sweat to streak my Sephora-ed face. Eyeliner and foundation smudged and smeared.

I pour a shot. Fireball, just for you.  I tip it to the sky dark and peppered with starlight and gracefully diving bats.

They glide dangerously close and draw back.  I watch them in awe. Lost in the thoughts of you and your lips against my skin.

Discarding  the tiny glass I turn the bottle up.  Bottoms up I think and cringe at how very fresh your voice seems inside my head. 

I can feel the tears forming. Escaping now. It was only a matter of time.  This dam was barely standing.  Held up by toothpicks and twigs.  And im screaming now.  Drunk and alone. Begging.  God. The Goddess. Any fucking backwoods bayou deity that will hear me. Because I need you.  I need to feel you in my arms again.  I need to feel you breathing against my chest.  Your lips on my neck. I need you inside of me. Your soul colliding with mine in perfect unity. And your hair falling down upon my face as our bodies melt together. I need you.

But its me and this half assed Jim Beam and a half empty pack of smokes. On my back on this rooftop with swooping bats and cicadas singing in the distance.

Rain on this valley floor of the mind.

Rain peace, thick on self wielded angst.

Rain healing honey on my tongue's destruction.

Dance for us.

Send the rain...

wash away our dopamine dependence.

Come, let us setup a catchment system,

build our love reservoir...

Dance, dance for reserves in a season of drought!

I will catch your soul in a blue bottle

Wrap it in leather and wool

Bathe myself in your coy fox smile

Feather boa and ruby fur

You have on your black bow tie

Your satin white cuffed shirt

I skip by your shadow in diamonds

Landing swift as you lift up my skirt

Brush my silken neck across your cheek

As you fiddle with your decree

Laugh violently when the stars rain down

As your hand travels up my knee

My soul is torn between forever and you. Locked away in the fantasy of mythical measures. Of children's laughter and waking up to your eyes. Filled with sleep and love. The morning sun filtering through the blinds. Illuminating your skin, tanned and smooth.

I am lost in this moment of forever. Trapped between Styx and this worldly bliss. Embrace me my love and bring me back into this world out of the fantasy and gloom. Kiss me until my brain has been washed clean from the toxic waste of our pasts.

Love me until I am no more.

Morning, Prosers,

We hope you are all well!

This week marks week twenty-one of our throwback Thursday feature and we honestly do not know how we haven’t run out of things to say. But forever the word-nerds, we haven’t and this week we have some exclusive information for you.

As you are all probably aware, and are most likely getting sick of hearing us talk about it, we (Paul and Sammie) go into prison each week to carry out our Letters from Prison initiative. Last week we took a very special guest in with us.

Those of you out there that are film buffs will most likely know this lovely ladies’ dad. He was a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor, and photographer. His most famous films included, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Lolita, and Full Metal Jacket to name a few. Yes! That’s right, we only took Stanley Kubrick’s daughter to prison with us!

Katharina is extremely successful in her own right, she stepped into the film industry full-time in 1976 to work in Ken Adam's art department as an assistant on the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me during which time she was asked to design the teeth for the character Jaws! After this she worked with some of the best production designers on a series of movies and TV commercials in a variety of different roles. She worked on many high-profile films, including Midnight Express, Moonraker, The Muppet Movie, Saturn 3, The Shining, Sphinx, The Dark Crystal, and Supergirl.

Since then, Katharina has spent her time painting and creating bespoke jewelry. Which is beyond beautiful. We’ll leave the link to her website here. So, I hear you ask, why on earth is Katharina visiting prison with Prose? Well, given her love of art, and our love of philanthropy, (which we love almost as much as words themselves), we asked Katharina if she’d like to come in with us and spend some time in the art department teaching the residents her methods. She was anxious at first, just like we were, we all have so many preconceptions about prison from TV and film, which on the whole are mainly wrong. So Katharina agreed to visit and see for herself what we were raving about.

It was clear to see beforehand how nervous she was, but when the afternoon was over, she was as pumped and excited about it as we have been and still are. She had the gentlemen eating out of the palm of her hand!

This week, Katharina will be coming again and @Squeakypeewee01 will be interviewing her. Which she is super excited about. To be given that opportunity as an inmate is incredible! Keep an eye out for that interview in the coming weeks.

Every two-weeks, Katharina will be joining us in prison. An initiative that joins art and words for the rehabilitation of offenders.

One final thing before we sign off for this week, we are experiencing an increasing amount of user communications via email, direct message, and on our social media. For those of you that have just joined us, we are a modestly small team and work hard on all aspects of Prose. We always treat user communications as first priority, and endeavor to get back to all enquiries within 24-48 hours. If you are contacting us about a suspected bug, if you could send us a detailed account of what is happening (or not, as the case may be), along with your username, the platform you are using (Web, iOS, Android), and finally, your browser should you be on the web. This helps us save precious time and means we can get to work on the issue quicker too!

With that being said, we’re off to prison (yes, we wrote this on Wednesday!).

Until next time, Prosers,

Prose.

"Let me erode you, make yourself vulnerable as the rain that falls faithlessly, 

Right now, just for me. 

Please me with the shedding of your noblesse self, 

Conflicted between shame and artful grace. 

I want you to be sickening, 

Your destructive pleasures lain bare before my tasting of you. 

Do not look me in the eye, I have been dealt a great agony, 

And it was she that did this to me, 

I will make love to her through you, 

But I promise you, 

The weight of my pain will be the pleasure you've been haunted by. 

Start slow.."

It has been a while since you left to search for something better, to explore your options. When the crumbling sound of your heart shattering fell on deaf ears tonight, I heard it hundreds of miles away. Now that it's much too late, you understand the thing you search for is what you thoughtlessly abandoned. The star we entrusted our life with assures me you are spending the night remembering my face, my touch, my presence. It has not spoken to you ever since you chose to deny its existence, but I assure you I am pensively gazing at it this very moment, wondering if you realize that I would have loved you forever.

the fire blankets

my naked body,

in warmth,

and whiskey

heats my heart,

and im close

to leaving

final footprints

that will wash away

next time it rains,

unlike the burden

of this town, lingering

like dust behind

stars that run from space.

is this how the coals feel

when they no longer

cast shadows of flame?

subdued to crackled glow,

fading in the night

as bits of dead limbs.

I'm not sure

how long it will take

for my fossils to erode,

but I hope

I forget

before they do.

I will dance with stars

and melt moonbeams in my mouth

I will dress in midnight gauze

And when the shores of blue recede

I will float the day upon comet trails.

I will stir the sheets

and let clouds drift down upon me

I will pour a cup of moonlight

And as night folds up the day,

and silver slides upon the sill,

under a thousand threads

I will find you

And fold myself

up into you