To entertain
means to be starkers
and dance with veils,
to exoticize war
and tremble in
a thousand rhythms.
Bejeweled as a spy,
nevertheless,
don't know why.
Eye of the day,
and a dozen matchlocks
had me inertly settle
upon my knees,
before bending at my waist
to take one last look
at the fiery heavens.

You linger on my breath,
biting at my tongue.

Before I speak,
words spill from my lips,
dripping down my chin.
Sentences tangle with saliva,
like loose threads at your feet.
I leave them to slither
down the indentations in the floor,
cracks in the wood symmetrical
to the lines you drew on their bodies
with your careful fingertips,
gathering like dead skin
under your nails.

And if you think
that finding true love,
and keeping it,
is the hardest thing you've ever done,

try losing it.

Today, I'm conflicted:
I don't want to remember you
But I don't want to forget either.

Guilt is a gusty gale from within.
A soul is but a sailor
Who can’t sail away from sin.