In another life, my dear, I'd have kissed you tonight beneath the strawberry moon. I'd have made you laugh and blush at your beauty, and you'd have teased me with coy smiles. But we would both know our fates were bound together- so why not our bodies as well? And we'd have forgotten everything except each other beneath the strawberry moon. But that's another life, my dear, where I was stronger, wiser, and purer, and got to you sooner. Perhaps another man found you... and my destiny is to be alone. Perhaps it is so. But there will be a heart-splitting beauty in the melancholy of my solitude beneath the strawberry moon. 21 June 2024