Perfume No. 9, Bvlgari Black

(alternative) 
Originally published as "October" in the October 2018 edition of Conscious, the zine.

Smoke softening the chilly air
With memories of fire

The perfume rising from my chest
In perfect complement

Vanilla, spice, and Lapsang Souchong
Today smells like my soul

Sweet and dark and burning off
The things it doesn't need

~Elena Nola, October 2017

Blue Moon

The moon rose yellow against a Confederate sky
Like some wasted sun, its core collapsed,
Anemic light a harbinger of change. 
But dying sun is brilliant moon;
It shone brighter than reflection,
A ring of white around its edge entire,
Almost a corona.
Almost like it burned.
~Elena Nola