each stagger
imprinted itself with a Venetian canal
running down our flesh,
as we shook our bare bodies
into the barren earth,
we pulled each other’s hair
and said we smelled like roses.

we settled comfortably
into our thin jumpsuits of wilderness
my stomach grew comfortably taut,
our calves caked in mud
and true hues started to surface.

“step over the campfire if you have ever felt alone.”

we water colored each sunset
with the rapidness of our paint strokes
growing faster each day
ponytails slicked in sweat,
skin bitten,
because the mosquitoes needed our pearls of blood more than us.

we thought the wilderness was there for us that summer,
helping us carry half our body weight in hot sauce,
or smoothing the slant of those seemingly endless hikes.

it brought the sky closer to us.

or maybe we did.
that,
i’m still not quite sure of.