Let me see your eyes
Run to me with your mask off
My mind is ready

You and I will always have this--
The sun beating down on our heads as you **** on a sweet tea-soaked straw and I sip amber ale--
Distant giggles ricocheting off eggshell walls and floral-printed arm chairs melodically--
Secret words and symbols more problematic than the Babylonian texts of old--
Moments of silence and contemplation freezing time so we may never leave this temple--
A temple we built together, you and I.
A fortress stronger than Alexander.
Our shrine will prosper ever more.

You and I will always have this.

I am the child of purification and destruction, wafting through the air, an omen.
Let me dust your lips and sting your eyes with my gentle caress.
Curl me around your fingers and stroke my tendrils in envy--
Alas, you can never hold me.
You can never capture my essence.

I am the product of scorched earth blending with broken promises.
Let me steal your truths from your tongue that you guard so carefully--
Wrap you up in my arms even though I fear smothering you with my kiss.
I wish I could hold you.
I wish I was more than this.

But I am just smoke.

Do I sicken you?

Does your lip curl in repulsion as I cast aside my skin and invite you in?
Oh, what misfortune is mine that you would choose to dine with me!
Am I not a pretty spread, charred from toe to head?

Feast on me and be sickened.

With such disgust you mask your lust,
and I watch your tongue quiver, shiver, and shake--
Touch me and I will break in your fingers.
You see me as lovely and wild; and yet,
I am so very reviled by you.
Is my human mask too loose?
Would you fancy me in a noose?

Ah, such wonder we feel at what makes us ill, for hunger sets no limit.
Do you know when to stop eating?

Is your heart even still beating?

You made yourself sick.

I crave you.

I wonder of your lips, tinted with kiss of rose,
and my mind traces from corner to cupid's bow.
Neither scent of swirling ocean or forest at dusk
can compare to the engulfing fumes of your musk.
My heart wastes on you with every sigh I draw--
Oh, but how I wish to hold you in my jaws.
Ah, I bite and tear and lick and caress!
I want to make such a mess of you.
Do your tastebuds scream for me too?
Should I save my appetite for you?
Is it a crime of passion to assume the sweat
on your skin is as sweet as  I imagine?
I confess, embarrassed, for my tongue slips
when I am near you, and my saliva drips
from my fangs in hunger--
May I pull you under me?

It is so hard to behave.
I cannot resist; thus, I crave.

I am Emperor. I am Death.

All ye who challenge my reign over kingdom and kin
know not the true consequence of thy sins.
In flesh, I come bearing bountiful wealth and crown;
alas, in decay, I may claim nothing as my own.
Upon white steed I ride, demanding thy reverence,
for no mortal plea may earn my benevolence.
My castle is made of shattered coffins and bone.
The lives I take are etched upon my throne.
I am balance, bringer of law and order supreme,
yet my presence is sought only in screams.

"Our true end hath come!" my countrymen thunder,
"God, please save us! Death shall tear us asunder!"

Wherefore doth thou cry for a holy savior?
Wherefore doth I warrant such behavior?
I was thy maker, thy just and wise king,
I asked for no riches or engraved rings.

I am Emperor, I am Death, and in the very end,
the only true kingdom is made of dead men.

I am a glutton for unrequited
desires, because fantasy is simple.
My lips quiver, wordless. Why?
Why am I only able to cradle
your hands in my dreams? Oh.
I suppose it is poetic justice.

We creatures who lurk in darkness
cannot touch the stars.
If I could touch you, would you
sparkle or would you burn?
Can I outline the contours of you
the way petals unfold in the sun?

I am unpolished, eroded by waves
of discontent as I lie at your feet.
And yet, I am satisfied with my
own dissatisfaction. Aren't you?
Did we ever know what it meant
to be satisfied? It isn't in our blood.

We were never meant to be content.