canary in a coal mine

wildflowerveins:

your father tells you a story. the boy pulls a knife from his throat but there isn’t any blood. pulls a quarter from your mouth. pulls a dove by its throat. you buy two fish and they kill each other. your father tells you a story. you’ve stolen his ring. you’ve stolen your mother. you’ve stolen the pink from the sky, smeared it flat on your belly. the boy teaches you to breathe fire. to spit gold. he waves his hand and the blood turns to wine. the record skips twice. your father tells you a story. the boy becomes a cartographer. burns his ship. pours the sea monkeys down the drain. shaves his head. you bite an apple. the boy pulls a loose tooth. you wipe the blood from his chin. & the story begins: once, a boy wanted nothing but you