Inferno

Pious as the drunk 

To the many glasses of wine

Chalk-mouthed and slender

Cheeky as the olive

That swirls around in your mouth

from your young cocktail glass,

Tall and clean

Ah, you

Flirting with my nose 

With lavender and rosemary.

This is the way it starts

And it goes on, it goes on, 

it goes

Lay rest my mind 

In your beautiful

shining palms,

You know me too well;

Too well.

And run a finger across

Every wide-eyed thought

Written with your mercury glances

Dancing so carefully 

On my skin.

If you dive 

and the river should break you

Run forwards, not back,

And we’ll be safe at the bank.

And we’ll sit in the inferno of pain

And tell ourselves how it felt 

To be faithful

To each other,

To our pens, and the pain of our seeing

For a while:

As it plagued us

As it raised us.

Come, how we learn 

How it is to begin

For the first time,

And remember

To love all over again.