i
when my
love embraces my
body in her arms––
when her
fingers go
yearning through my
hair––
she is also loving
you, my dear
enemy––
loving
you, my tainted
blood––
loving
you, my trusted
assassin.
ii
two serpents
curl around the
staff of
aesculapius––
you coil within the
marrow of my
bones.
you know
me inside
out––
much better than
i know my
self.
you have
flowed beneath the
forbidden shadow in my
heart
swum the
cataracts un
charted in my
brain &
plumbed the
secrets of my orphic
soul.
iii
are you the
face of my
father before he was
born?
some fateful
rumpelstilskin un
masked by the
mysery of your
name?
or perhaps you are
the celebrant
of my final
breath as a
sacrifice to cosmic
law?
iv
you know
who i am;
you know
what i do;
there’s nothing i
can hide from
you.
you taste my
blood
& this is my
continual
confession––
i am in
love. i am not
afraid.
v
my cora is
jealous of your
lust for
me.
she is stalking
you with
tenderness &
hunting you
down with sweet
laughter.
starving you with
crisp, green
vegetables & golden
fruit.
roasting your
skin with loving
eyes.
vi
when she touches
me, she is caressing
you––
softly whispering in our
ears & reaching for our
hands.
she must love
us both, entangled
as we
are.
vii
how many
kisses will you
take for
ransom?
how can we
save you from the
horrible repetitions of your
work?
cora will
sing a lullaby just for
you.
let the
melody end your
blindness & free you from the
dark.
& when you are
ready to fall
asleep, we will bless
you with a lighted
dream––
may you lose
yourself forever
in circulatory
bliss.