a fool of a man
threatens me with his own life
demanding I yield

I can never really sleep
so I guess I never
will
I'd give you a bit
of my heart
but you'd probably
take your fill
& that's far more than I
can currently
bear


once upon a
time
I thought I could
share



now I'm not quite sure
where
I put the ******
beating
thing


they all stand
before me
with pointed fingers
& furrowed
brows



how dare you allow yourself
to be beaten down
& change your
mind?


how dare you shut out
the spirits
& drink the cold
blushed
wine?



the earth is no longer
kind



& it eats up my vision
as I begin to
unwind

she’ll conserve your leverage
if you invade her
interest

you aren’t bargaining
for devotion
& she isn’t waiting for moths
to eat away at her coat

shouldn't you have
realized
that we’re in a ******
rivalry
this time around
where beautiful grapes
are never ripe
& she isn't infinite
enough for your
tongue
& sense of divine
chivalry?

compassionate knight,
haven’t you known
yourself
to stumble so often
until now
when she has finally freed
you of your
combat burns
& cherished wounds?

call her intuitive, but
she caught you
long ago
through a forest clearing
with a box of
cigars
& too many dreams


you told yourselves you
were too much
alike

quick -- hand me your
clinical nest
so easily disguised
in the form of
beautiful
white tears that
glisten with hints of
subtle blue

they tend to find easy
refuge
on the edge of
my lips
when they see the
leaves
are falling

honey, don't you know
if you keep the
window open
eventually I'm going to



fly away?



we can't count our
courtesies
as often as our
conflicts
& you were never there
to know
the difference

one day you'll stop trying
to predict my
wings


& I'll stop trying to
remember
how well you
could

she took the next
train
& forgot to check the
destination

she skipped her
last meal
& left her deathbed
at the station


she jumped from the
middle car
after a few drinks
& a stranger's
dare


now she'll forever roam
the woods with dirt
& flowers in
her hair

let us sink into the
gleam
of the holy unknown shaking
deliverance
that is a cold hard kiss
to the neck

a shivering dream


what fervor!
she casts her breath out
in a panicked
fever


pure ecstasy
with a bold-pressed silent stare
that echoes




"more."

a beacon shone onto the
cold stone steps
like an escape stripped of
human consequence

she felt the warmth
but dared not tread upon it

he could breathe life into anything
he touched
& she prayed they'd never
have to shake
hands



though she still sang into
the kitchen sink
if only to remember
that she
could still carry
a tune