Venus

stop
my silent heart
can’t you see?
it is not ready
to make love
my greedy hands
are not with us
sparking nerves
along your spine
my teeth
are still clenched
my jaw
my aching jaw
still a vise
grip
slipping on the soul
of another
a wild cry
my raucous screaming
the shudder
still sent down
down, down
my angry, secret kiss
will not be held

my flower
was hers

this Venus
tired of so many
small deaths
sidles from my lungs
gasps
contracts around
the low, base desire
to keep all of her
inside

Sacrilege

so help me God

just two left but

heavy hearts

must be met

with heavy drugs

every pill, a nail

every pill, a nail

driven through

my coffin lid

my upturned palms

my aching  jaw

my last resort:

a bright and sunny retreat

with your name

screamed out

through clenched teeth

so help me

Apparitions

“She writes you as a ghost”
Is as far as I get
Before I break
Tears falling
Here in the spirit world
This hidden place where you
Passed through me
On your way from one pain
Into another
My being pulled taut
Through your bones
Like an echo
A reverberation of need
Some small, fleeting caress
A glimpse of paradise
Bleeding from me
Into the material world
You write me as an apparition
Ephemeral and haunting
All the parts of me
Linger in you
Like a dream
Dematerializing
As it slowly disappears
Leaving only
Lust and sorrow
In its wake