i still remember the nights
spent tracing her lips, looking
for meaning in their cracks.

(shrunken spines, curling
lips and cosmic eyes.)

she'd kiss away my fears,
paint them black and blue,
distorting memories until
they became meaningless
lies dripping so easily off
her tongue that i'd soon begin
to mistake them for truths

(shrunken spines, curling
lips and cosmic eyes.)

Untouchable, she was the
kind of beauty to keep you
transfixed, swirling skies,
killing time, the crescendo
building up in your head
until everything just
suddenly
               goes
                       blank.

she was shrunken spines,
curling lips and cosmic eyes

i loved her, i hated her,
i still wish i could see her
without the memories
lying breathless,
clouding my gaze.

This little trifle with the devil
Has got me all ******* in knots.
I called out to the angels--
Never did get a response.

They are shrouded in the veil
Of evils justified,
But out here we are fighting
Because there is nowhere to hide.

I'm left battered and bruised
And utterly confused,
For what was once important
Is now insignificant and obtuse.

What pretty words you've sewn together.
What a lovely, fabricated masterpiece they create.
What a wondrous story, once cut and trimmed and edited,
This will someday make.

And when you've finished all the detailing,
May you let it lie here on the floor;
Perhaps somewhere in the foyer
To greet strangers at the door.

she slides her slender
white fingers down the
branches of his spine

her eyes melted like
glaciers and lips as soft
as freshly fallen snow

skin lustful, but heart
unforgiving, exhaling
his every intention

she is autumn in his
palms, her trees bare,
the leaves rust fallen

flashing indifference,
thoughts plucked in
shades of violent rose

Listen to your demons;
They have a lot to say.
Consider, now, the chaos:
It can take your breath away.

Play the devils advocate:
Be shocked by your own speech.
Play with fire, dance with monsters,
Contemplate what they preach.

Hear the echoes in the silence,
Though the resonance is faint.
See the figures in the darkness
Meaning light still remains.

Stare into oblivion.
Embrace the great abyss.
Find beauty in the question:
Can nothingness exist?

And you think it is as simple
As telling black from white;
Little do you know, my love,
That it's just a trick of the light.