i.
basilisk of steel
blades of fury
brisk justice
broken pact

this life is a maid of iron,
and i am the trapped husk

how long will you be blinded by glimpses of heaven
before you realize the tainted blood of your words?

Do you mourn the tree of the apple?

Will you bury the vines of the grape?

With every seed you eat,
Will you remember the mother's mistake?

Dug deep are the roots.

Of the old childless Eden.

But there are no sugars left,

For your miscarried fruits.

Do you water the dead plants?

Will you bury the mulberry bush?

With every pome you swallow
Will you remember that fateful push?

you are the stone cast
and i am the water —
as you plunge deeply
into the weak nadirs
of my bottomless soul

lest you fall asleep on the dreambound ferry
keep your eyes open for the ride forward

for the most beautiful things are along
the way and not where it ends

i am a beacon of hollow skin
of which you have neglected
with your back turned; a
grand shadow cast

it ruptures within me like a sweet abyss;
to you an undesired whole