The Hereafter

We rested in silence and reveled in our victory,
Hand-in-hand and chest-to-chest,
Mouth-to-mouth and gasping for breath,
As though all the life had bled from us in this instant and we had disintegrated into one.

And we smiled to ourselves in this infinite glory;
All was as it should be for the most transient of moments.
I could feel your heartbeat ringing in my ears like the sweetest anthem,
And I was certain I would sell my soul to ensure that yours would be the only tune I'd ever hear;
That your eyes would be the only windows I'd ever peer into,
And that in them I would discover everything I'd ever need,
In much the same way that I had discovered you.

I have waited my entire life to feel this way,
Both overwhelmed and subdued,
Frenzied and composed.
For months I have prayed for this conclusion;
To be swept up and carried away with you,
Undisturbed and liberated.

You are the moon of my night;
The brightest star in the darkest corner of Heaven,
Where we have made our sanctuary,
Covert and serene so that none might see,
Where I can loll in the safety of your arms until I have tired of it,
Which will be no time soon.

We swam in the incalescence our bodies left behind,
Sweating and stinking of that which had previously been forbidden;
I have sampled this most deadly fruit and I am smitten,
Ready to give it all up so that I can taste you for eternity.