Enemies to Lovers to Enemies - Phoenix Tesni

with a gun against your head- you can’t even
speak to god, much less make a bargain. the thing is-
she loved the beauty of it all. love is not something
you can gamble with, and the smell of gasoline
fills up your lungs faster than anyone can
tell. god says, you must have been wrung inside
out. all of your organs are in the wrong places.
royals never think their decisions through-
much like toddlers. on their knees,
pleading. a glass of milk, an overflowing bottle.
what do you do with leftovers? blood does not
spoil quite the same. you refuse to look for her
these days- sometimes out of spite- until you run
out of righteous anger. there’s not much to be done
about a romance that fills forgiveness in dynamite.

Originally published by Diphthong Lit 2022

Phoenix Tesni (she/her) is a twenty-three year-old poet from New Delhi. A Best Small Fictions finalist, her works also appear in Surging Tide, Limelight Review,  Sage Cigarettes, Celestite Poetry, and many other places. Phee likes to dedicate her life to consuming & creating art, indulging in all forms of South-Korean multimedia, and petting as many cats as possible. You can find her at phoenixtesni.com or on Twitter/Instagram @PhoenixTesni.