Arwy

“What of the firefly,
the one I love to chase?
The old man smiled
Love her
he said
but leave her wild,
and the old oak tree I love to climb?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
the bird that sings that song I love?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
and the wolf that cries to the old joke moon?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
and the horse that loves to run with storms?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild.
And what of her,
the one I love most?
And the old man smiled.
Yes, he said,
you must love her too
but love her wild
and she’ll love you”
― Atticus Poetry, Love Her Wild

“Art has the answers
to many
of the questions
we weren’t brave
enough to ask.”
― Atticus Poetry, The Dark Between Stars

“Tell me again what you said at the revel,” he says, climbing over me, his body against mine.

“What?” I can barely think.

“That you hate me,” he says, his voice hoarse. “Tell me that you hate me.”

“I hate you,” I say, the words coming out like a caress. I say it again, over and over. A litany. An enchantment. A ward against what I really feel. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

He kisses me harder.

“I hate you,” I breathe into his mouth. “I hate you so much that sometimes I can’t think of anything else.”
― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“Obsession is not love,
infatuation is not love,
when someone ignores you
or treats you poorly, carelessly,
or with indifference
that’s not love—
that’s a lack of love,
for yourself, for trying to fill
your missing pieces with theirs
but when someone is whole
and you are whole
and you act in kindness and benevolence, vulnerability
through strength,
love becomes an exchange
with another person—
and that is
its truest form”
― Atticus Poetry, Love Her Wild