-- when I have the tenderness of a writhing dragon,
he will paint flowers across my throat

as though to remind me that fires are indelicate,
and that I writhe in a prison made of open space.
-- this man will not smother me with his skin
when we sleep.
-- this man will unhinge the door of my mouth,
and kiss out the bullets stuck under my tongue.
                                                                ­               ---
whatever thousandth day I awaken beside this man,
realizing I have become the flowers he painted
across my throat, by braving my throat,

I will, unchaining myself from the draconic worry,
bring him his coffee in bed, with a smile.

There she lay, naked and restless.
Ground crawls in the hours of twilight.
A change is rising, she can sense it--
Like riderless horses,
                 She flows.

Raging, thrashing, she growls and groans.
Tremors of emotion, ripples like the cold.
Keeping it together, the cells vibrating,
The tempestuous mounds roll.

In the absence of her violence;
Once the turmoil has tired,
She lay in a green valley filled with wallflowers.
        Here is where she sleeps.

Alas, the peace never lasts.
In the stead of a victory,
The lesser lay in shambles.
  Oh how glory has fallen.

I burnt down the metal cage
that confined me

I have broken up with God
and I am blossoming

without his hand pushing
my head down

I eat blackberries straight from
the bush

tasting the dirt where they grew
the tightest bud bursting

into fruit that nurtures me
that sustains me

I am Godless and cageless
I am a woman of

flames, starting fires
wherever I go

burning, burning, turning
into ash

into the very dirt I courted
with my purple stained

lips

How
Can you love me?
Broken and shattered.
You brought your own dustpan
And swept me, to a pile,
And off my feet.

How
Could I have been?
The blind one,
The lost one,
The bleeding and beaten one.
And still found.

How
Did you know?
That the love you shared,
Would heal,
The fractured chasm,
Within me.

How
Can I still be inflicted?
If only for moments,
From the poison
From the delusions
Years ago.

With all my faults
With my repugnance
With my doltish ways

You found, and find me
Shine light on my shadows
And bring warmth
To my heart.

Behold -- eternal damnation
burns
towards you.
A second of comfort, hand outstretched,
cupping,
               cradling ****** constructs
your eyes remain void; fresh and yet frozen in time -

-- in space;
in memory.


The flashes, the strikes
-- the burning yearning agony;
the sharper the breath the blunter.

The penetrating throb -
the dismal brightness before you,

comforts --- cradles.