Floating in an expanse, trapped in a room
the walls could be the ends of a universe,
or a martyr's doom,
and I count the atoms of its shifting embrace
it dances within sight, but ever out of reach
truer things have never been more curious
the walls are my castaway beach.

Endless journeys coil within me,
my mind is a boundless jungle:
the predators linger in hazy umbra,
while the prey lazily graze
with eyes diametrically opposed.
I am some sort of misshapen construct,
a being lost to himself, but a target nonetheless.

****** into the deep
from which secrets sweetly seep
I find answers to keep
demystifying puzzles caged by sleep
the malice in this wonderland
nibbles at the soul with perilous teeth
just to taste the suffering
of a man who's trapped beneath
beneath the undergrowth of the city
within the fissures of a sidewalk
betwixt the folds of a chewing gum wrapper
he is gnawed by the everafter,
the what if,
the may be,
maybe.

Perchance he truly listened to the bright void
oh, how it oozes soft, eldritch light
the essences of somber dealings with ethereal misfits,
whatsay he consumed the knowledge whose
questions
once consumed him?

We all imagine that he would be
empty of emptiness...
but is there such a thing?

If you are married or in love
Valentine’s Day comes from Cupid, angles up above
Deliveries to work are gifts of candy and flowers
Evening plans, a romantic candlelit dinner for hours
Followed by hugs and endless kisses
And Many sweet untold wishes

However if you are alone or single
This day is an empty heart that sadly tingles
One by One the coworkers receive their deliveries
Their glances of pity added to my miseries
Their words of sympathy only deepened the pain  
Hoping for the day to end before I go insane

A day rubbed in my face
Now lonely bitterness and sadness are my grace
Hurtful memories of Old verse New
Dinner for One instead of Two
No, I do not like Valentine’s Day
I wish it would Please, just go away

There was a time when I too received deliveries
Before the days of now and my miseries
The man I loved did not come home
I spent Valentine’s Day starring out the window alone
I cried myself to sleep and thought,Life
could not be more bleak, for a new young wife

He came home after a night at the bar
He had bought flowers yet left them in the car
The next day when I awoke
Not a word between us, we spoke

The dozen once beautiful long stemmed roses had wilted
Like our love empty and jilted
I silently took a pair of scissors from the drawer by the bed
Cutting the roses One by One at the base of the bulb head
My husband said nothing only shook his head in shame
Silently, I set down the scissors without placing blame

I made it clear I never want roses on this day
We never spoke of it, what is the point anyway
Valentine’s Day is a memory rubbed in my face
Now lonely bitterness and sadness are my grace
No, I do not like Valentine’s Day
I wish it would Please, just go away
However 36 years today
We are still together to my mismay

My old darling, she sighed,
as she relinquished my affections
roses and keepsakes,
delicacies and carnal delights.

Your pining weighs heavy,
she whispered in fatigue,
I cannot bear your sorrows
as I kiss you goodbye.

Holding my slack-jawed chin, she smiles,
this will be the last time,
for there is a world to see
that's bigger than you...

Her kisses needle
like the deathly caress of winter.
Her lustful embrace
like the coils of a python.
Even inside she is jagged and unforgiving
as is a cave sought out in desperation
discovered to be the abode of a black bear.

Yet I need her.

I cannot let her go.
I insist, take from me my skin,
my soul.
Whatever you need to stay warm.
Whatever will cover your hollow form.
If I should shiver, it is in my fear of your abandon.
If I should cry, it is the milk upon which you shall suckle.
If I should die, it is only that you may feast.
But please,
let it not be the last time...

Is it mortal anger that you desire?
Do you crave wrath in its divine fervor?!

Is it a devil may care grin you favor?
Do you lust for my cold shoulder, akin to tundras and the endless expanse of space?

It'll be fine, she says,
there are plenty more fish in the sea.
Fish for you.
Fish for me.

The last time!
I bellow,
any moment could be our last!
Any breath can become a rasping choke for life!
Any midnight stroll could turn you into roadkill!
Any night of the soul could be your last grip upon sanity!

Any romance can become a suicide.

Any last time could be your last time alive.

You say it's the last time?
Then our love is surely dead,
and I am that ghost wandering in those halls,
looking for you,
calling out in vain,
for you have moved on to the after life.
After us.

Last time?
I guess there's a first time for everything,
even the end.