trapped in old memories
and teases of a future
that exists only in
the deepest of sleep
trapped in the torture
of a poison that boils
in the blood
and sends shivers
down the length of
my spine
you lay on the bed
with unloving eyes
and unfeeling hands
even as they caress
my neck and down
my jawline
you plant your thumb
on my lower lip
and there is a flicker
of an old life
passing before my eyes
but you remove your hand
until the smoldering remnant
of a doused flame
is gone from the tip
of my tongue

it's sad how desperate we
all become
for a taste of
that poison