It is
not icy
nor jagged

It is
velveted,
warm

And that-
That’s the trick

A man called Micah:

Oh Lord, please
Please Lord
Save me from
This place
There is nothing but
Pain and mis-

Satan:

-oh, Micah
Sweat foolish Micah
He cannot hear you anymore
Micah, that’s the tricky thing
About this place
He doesn’t visit
There are no angels
No light cast
He doesn’t care

Micah, he doesn’t know you!

Micah:

But-
He said he’d-
He’d always-

Satan:

-He’s always what…?
He’d always be there
He’d always save you
He’d always-
love you

Micah, not anymore
You had your chance
But now, Micah
You’re here
With me

He will not come
Not for you

The Devil
Doesn’t tear you down
He builds you up
Until

You believe you can
Do it alone
Then he smiles
As you fall

And you always fall

To love and to be loved
Such a bizarre
Lives bound twisted
Leave a magnificent scar

If I held the final say
Death first of my lover
Or leave her to stay
One left to suffer

I wish her for death
For I foresee my sorrow
Should she see final breath
My grief she need not borrow

“listen to your elders”
they say
“they have wisdom”
they say

“some do”
I say

“age gives experiences”
they say
“experiences give growth”
they say
“growth gives wisdom”
they say

“some do not grow”
I say

Someone asked
Where is the greatest love?

In intimacy, no
In wedding, no
In children, no

But in death
That’s where love truly is
In heartbreak

I met two couples today
caught behind love’s curtain

one eighty-five and eighty-three
other twenty-one and twenty-three

twin flames
one a waning
a dim hospital wing

dual embers
both a growing
a sunlit park

I always said I wanted
the love of age
that testament faltered today