Awakening

She moved through air
she could barely breathe:
in her crown, seven rubies
cut like pomegranate seeds;
crimson robes touching
the stone floor, their leaden
sweep matching the heartbeat
she willed to stop.
She could not know
the most galling moment would be
the end of thrall
when she curved and slid
inside his arms as if swimming
underwater, her body remade
in a new element;
she drew him deeper, then
plunged upwards, gasping
the alien air.