No act of kindness is truly kind
When to another's heart is blind
The honesty of what's beneath
The hardened steel of friendship's sheath

Encapsulated memories
Enraptured deep in love's warm breeze
When longing turns to searing pain
So much to lose and naught to gain

Still, above all else there is a joy
That lingers in the heart's employ
Time will tell how deep it lies
Until that moment, the smile belies

High upon a pedestal
Backlit by Angels
A vision of perfection
A smile resplendent and healing
A magical site to behold

She does not see all she does
She just does what needs doing
Trudging through clumsily
Never thinking she hangs the moon
And the sun is merely a reflection of her soul

Paint my screen with love.
By virtual osmosis, perhaps I shall smile

Island vacation relaxing and calm
Her fluid nature cannot be ignored
Drawn to her heat with the promise of more
There go the lazy days spent 'neath the palm
Enchanted Princess in an island tale
A bronzen mermaid in the deep blue sea
One look, you'll be who she wants you to be
And revel with new found freedom in sail
The water sparkles in the setting sun
Splashes like fireworks welcome the night
Outlines of flesh reflected in moonlight
In the shadows of waves two become one
Reckless abandon, a perfect escape
In her arms he found that dreams could take shape

Oh, I see—you liked it when I used that big word, huh?
You want me to use some more?
Mm, let me just grab my pocket Thesaurus.
Yeah, that's right baby, I take it everywhere with me—
I find it quite useful in these… situations.

Right now, I could give you seven variations
of the word “****.”
Seductive
         Arousing
                Provocative
                          Se­nsuous
                 Mmhm, you liked that one, didn't you?
                    Libidinous
           Suggestive
Titillating…
You'd like more, I can tell,
but I need you to want it.

Let's go somewhere quiet
and thumb through
my college style manuals for a few hours.
We could talk about sentence variety,
the Oxford comma, some syntax,
and mm, if you're feeling real good,
maybe even discuss the proper usage of a semi-colon.

Just know, I've been saving semi-colons
for, you know, that special someone.

If things get a little steamy, we can go down to the basement
and I'll show you my Scrabble board.
I'll set you up for a triple-word score,
and you can put together some of those high-scoring,
two-letter words that really get me going.
Oh yeah, I think I'd be into your strategy.

When the game is over, I'll lean you back,
come in real close, and whisper some Neruda,
some Cummings,
some Dickinson
softly into your ear.
Afterward, I’ll trace lines of Hughes and Whitman
down your naked spine with my fingers.

I'm sure you know it's only polite
to return the favor.

It's just an idea.
I know it sounds good.
Trust me, I'll be gentle—
But baby, believe me—
I could punctuate you in all the right places.

insidious...
the forces that bend us toward self-destruction

insidious...
the illusions that feed those malevolent forces

insidious...
the stories that construct those obscuring illusions

insidious...
the thoughts that metastasize into those deluding stories

insidious...
the mind that identifies with those detrimental thoughts

innocent...
the soul that succumbs