Buildings above the leafless trees
Loom high as castles in a dream,
While one by one the lamps come out
To thread the twilight with a gleam.

There is no sign of leaf or bud,
A hush is over everything—
Silent as women wait for love,
The world is waiting for the spring.

There is no light in your eyes
and my arms are crossed tight against my
mid-section,
holding me together as I still slowly
crumble.

I am becoming my own epidemic -
spreading quickly
and I can't stop
myself.

You read it to me, once,
in a tarot deck.
The fool, inverted,
the hanged man surrendering, and
death –
even then, there was no light in your eyes.

But, I can feel the shaking, while swallowing
medication from a silver spoon
split through the middle,
breaking me in half
even with arms crossed over my middle
to keep me
from shaking apart.