Impressions from Across the Sea and Sand : BESSA & ELSKA by Rachelle Mills

BESSA : Hard Hunger

The painful war upon HER flesh by three against one ended 

with HER blood spilled.

SHE walks barefoot behind Him 

through the frost that will not fade until spring.

He tells HER to commit violence,

shows HER with swift movement and a gentle caress the blows to be dealt. 

Laying on the ground, spine straight,

HER head cradled in His hand, 

His heartbeat pulls away.

HER heart keens as She asked, "Do you miss her?"

Silence...

The painful war upon Her soul by His beloved ghost continues 

with HER love spilled.

 V v v v v v v V 

/\ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^/\

Hewn wood holds Her enemy's head.

He can't go out the front door anymore.

He doesn't want to see the eyes, He once looked into adoringly, pecked out by ravens.

He doesn't want to see the lips, He never kissed, chewed by scavengers.

 She once mocked her, "Tell your mate, no one will love his brother more than you."  

He fell in love with his brother's mate 

and she went to the Moon tainted with her mate's brother's seed.

she carried both their transgressions into judgement 

because

He never touched her 

and yet He blames Himself for her death.

He regrets loving her as HER heartbeat walks away,

refusing to share anything they shared with HIM...

They grind against each other like tectonic plates.

  V v v v v v v V

/\ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^/\

A simple dinner with His brother brings questions about Her dress

She tells the story woven into the cloth, beauty passed down for generations.

Every stitch, every bead, holds meaning, made with love, 

for the eldest daughter, Her Lineage.

His brother draws more from Her before dinner is eaten 

than He has in all Their anguished hours.

He realizes too late the reverence belonging to Her single chest of possessions,

those dresses were not meant to be daily worn and the loss of them is His fault 

because He snatched Her away too quickly.