Fallen
Beaten
Fallen again
Beaten some more
Not fallen like me, an empty casket,
hollowed out to make room for the things of the world
whose fate is bitter ash.
I’m fallen with imperfections as my flaws tear at the seams
Of my costume threatening to rip open the
empty piñata for the whole world to see.

You’re fallen by my imperfections and others’, too
Each time you rise you stomp, stomp on the wrongs,
Alight them with searing flames,
Smile at the perfections to come.
Within the smoldering remnants of my filth,
a form appears naked
but not ****.
Fascinating but not horrific
Love in the flesh; love shared between you and me
Alone.
Innocent love untainted by the unfaithful coos of a third party.
She calls, begs, and pleads for me to return to her.
But I am a child again, this is my
second chance at life.

Be gone, leave.
Return home to your master.
Don’t tell him hello for me;
I’m no longer wrapped up in his
fantasy lust for me.
I have chosen Him who has chosen
Death of Himself over
the death of me.
I don’t want you around any longer, you temptress.
Leave quickly, for I am the salt of the earth,
and I will torture your open wounds.

Babble, babble, disloyal and troubled
Get out! Get out!
Who’s there? Why are you here?
How did you get in? My safe haven!
No, no, no! I’m hearing but not listening.
Invaders…on the inside forcing their way out.
People can’t know the fugitives I hide.
They made me do it! Not my fault!
Not my fault!
Whisperings, not of a lover.
Betrayal. ****, you, traitor!
You promised me safety. You said I was supposed to feel better!
Where’s my prize?
I’m rocking, rocking, rocking…
Where are you?
All’s quiet on the eastern shore,
I’ll wait for you to come back, my Brutus.
This corner is not the same without you.

A deadly combination
Of lust, of passion, of love.
Deadly, poisonous, treacherous.
Worst of all, stupidly contagious.
Compassion for another because of another can’t exist,
suffocated by gyrating passion.
Passion serves one, not both…
Selfish, passion encircles the one consumed, feeding the addiction.
Addicts chase the high because for a little while the world is as it should be
In the eyes of the beholder.

Love sighs as the well runs dry.
Throw down the bucket as you may,
the water will not appear.
Acceptance is the hardest thing.
Giving up? Not at all.
Only people with nothing to gain can
Give up.
Accepting, letting go, moving forward.
The steps of progress in self-realization.
Leave behind the fire of love that
consumes the heart and ravages the mind,
preoccupies the body.
Chase that fire which refines.
I await to wake from this comatose state.

Pop, pop, pop
They’re not the same as pills.
Why do people use them so much?
They break more easily.
Not as reliable to dull the pain.
No science involved in making them,
only the emotions riled up in the moment.
No, give me a pill.
Keep your promises.
I’ll take my chances without you.