fairy

I saw you,
waist-deep in the stream:
the glacial water rendered you
almost translucent –
your veins traced in fragile blue fire.

you appeared to me a fairy*,
a vision, a delirious dream,
a spirit of water,
a presence
enraptured by its own enchantment.

how sweet the honey tasted,
fermented on your lips,
how salt the sweat at your temple,
spilled
when the trembling tip of my blade
grazed you,
just below the thigh…

…
the wild fern,
arching over the stream’s banks,
harbored serpents,
whose venom now
runs mingled, forever,
with your blood.



*In English, fairy is one of those words with a double life.
It’s a folkloric creature, of course, but over time it’s picked up a few extra, quietly coded meanings that only some readers will catch. In poetry, that doubleness can do a lot of subtle work :)

And then, on a much less poetic note, Fairy is also a very popular brand of dishwashing liquid.
Turns out even the most ethereal words don’t mind ending up in the kitchen sink :)