clandestine (1 / 2, 2's perspective)
what goes on behind closed doors
is our only secret.
it is nobody else's business.
those endless nights
when the heat rises
when the world contains nothing but us
and when each touch crackles across my skin
and ignites my heart in a passionate flame.
when I strip you of each layer you've applied
and reveal the true you
the you that's for my eyes only.
when my body is yours.
collision.
my lungs force out snatched air
that shapes itself to your name
and my entire body falls
to your tender mercy.
.
.
.
grail (1 / 2, perspective could go either way?)
your hands hold me tenderly
like a lover
fingers tracing the terrain of my face
my shoulder
i ask
"will it be like this forever?"
you reply
"maybe not
but there's nothing more thrilling than
a love that burns brightly
consuming everything within it
and leaving nothing but ash.
will you burn with me, my love?"
and it's only when our lips rejoin
that i remember what i've craved
.
.
.
strained relationship (1 / 2, 2's perspective)
why do you always shrink away
when we're touching each other
like my hands are hot enough to burn?
and why are your hands so cold
and retreating
and hesitant
whipping away
when I try and hold them?
i lowered my head
and waited for a reply
i knew would never come
.
.
.
the sanctuary (1 / 2, from 1's perspective)
why am i imprisoned here?
you scream,
having been led by my hand
unable to see
unable to know the truth
for so long.
i hate this gilded cage.
i
want
out
you tear at the arms that embrace you so tightly
like an animal in a trap
and with a voice hoarsened by futile pleas
you beg the question
why can't you let me go?
and I cry
as I tighten the blindfold
that it's only because I love you
.
.
.
laments of the abandoned (1 / 2 , from 2's perspective).
with blood slowly turning black
cloying, decaying
as it emerges from the arrow
wound to my heart
eyes glazed with the
dried up remains of tears
clutching your words to my chest
i lie, in decomposition
awaiting that day
ah, but if
it was for your sake
i wouldn't mind rotting here forever
waiting for you
.
.
.
1 (from 1's perspective)
this bullet shell.
a memento
of a time when I was wide-eyed
and stood tall
and said
"it'll be better one day."
yet now, these eyes are squinting
weighed down on the lids
with the many horrors they've witnessed
this feeble body
weakened by all the running away
from gunfire
from the one who cared
from myself
leans grudgingly on a staff.
and the hope i once held
lays buried with all the other dead.
all I have left is my crown
and even that's slowly crumbling
through my fingers
.
.
.
AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR EACH POEM:
Clandestine: This poem was actually written in 2019, before I discovered 9, but upon finding the poem again, floating around in my docs, I realised "hey...this is actually really good!" and changed it to 1/2. It's about a love kept secret, hidden passion, but also how these two are completely open and true to each other.
Grail: in this one I tried to capture a sense of love in a finite world, where they know they don't have much time left, probably, but they just want to keep this moment. Sort of reckless, in a way.
Strained relationship: shorter, and sadder. Not angry, but more disappointed and saddened. I get the feeling that the speaker blames himself for the other's losing interest.
The Sanctuary: How the fandom has portrayed 1 and 2's romance in canon compliant works has always fascinated me. This idea of the Sanctuary being a "gilded cage" is also a common trope in 9 fanfiction too. However, I tried to portray 1 as someone who's not inherently evil, or wanting to hurt anyone, but someone acting out of paranoia and fear of losing his friends, or in this case, his loved one. There's also more anger from the speaker of our last poem here.
Laments of the Abandoned: This poem is probably more to be taken metaphorically than literally if you want it to be canon compliant - knowing someone's left you and that you can never return to what it was, but still holding onto that futile hope... because you still love them.
1: 1 is by far the most interesting character to me. Someone who's so obviously broken and traumatised by war and the massive weights on his shoulders whose only comfort is his authority...and he loses that, too.
Thank you all for reading! You can probably tell that 1/2 is my favourite ship.