The First Time by Julie Shiel

Do you remember the first time
you possessed me,
how every second was crystal sharp
and even the moon held its breath;
the story you spoke in my ear
as you pinned me close,
your slow words sending
shockwaves through my body
until I shook in senseless desire
and you made me your own?

It was a game we played in the black
until it was all that existed,
each thought folding into
when, where, how long until next time,
stolen moments and gasping cries
the only salvation until
you could claim me once more.

We could never get enough,
never tire of the shadow fairytale
that fed our addiction
where you are the wolf
and I am your willing victim,
those humid stolen kisses
now leaving me lost and aching
for your control.

Julie Shiel lives on the Chesapeake Bay where she writes and dreams. Her work appears in issues of Strange Horizons, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Fairytale Magazine and others. When not writing she grows a moon garden and communes with her local murder.

© 2026 Julie Shiel. All rights reserved.