He tries to soothe my heart with pretty words,
But many have come before with much prettier
And all balk at the sign of work-
You need effort and action to make love work,
Love cannot sustain on love alone.

But oh, how pretty are words as a salve,
A balm so easy given, as thought to mouth
I'll be sure to reread them once we're out-
You need more than empty promises to stay in love
Love cannot sustain on love alone

And yes, as a young poet,
I fell for gentle wordsmiths
Who felled me so swift with a note and a sonnet
If I'd had more care, I'd never have bought it
For love, truly love, cannot sustain on love alone.

That ice you hold in the center of your chest
You never let it thaw, you never let it rest
And I know where my sun sets,
But you,
You've never been that far west
//
Playing faded cards with a jar of hearts
I'll never win against a gambling man,
You know how to sugar me up
I always forget not to show you my hand
//

I'm writing into the disquiet night,
More words, words, words
Which you will never read

The cuts are warm on my hips
Blood and heat is primal, tangible,
Human and animal
I escape into my mind more and more and more and more
I can't remember the dreams, but being
Someone else, with different thought patterns
Different goals, different family, different loves
I can feel the cuts in my thigh while I dream
Holding and encasing, pressing in and blanketing
I know the dreams don't want to break, but break like a fever
If I didn't have to wake
I'd never live a life I'm willing to take.