The maddened cry out beneath my window. I can viscerally feel their wails of despair. As I slowly curl into a ball, My love returns to me. He rocks me in his arms Whispers lies that we’ll escape this place one day.
He is every intoxicating answer.
The sweet words he pours into me like a syrup Are so poisonous. The venom is rotting me from the inside.
The damage isn’t visible, though. In fact, the only proof lies In my fillings.
Don’t fret. My teeth remain as strong as my resolve.
They can still bite through the meat Of any heart.
Ravenous
When my heart was wide enough for a wolf to creep in, He arrived promptly, and with a confession:
“Somewhere I’ve buried thousands of the most terrifying secrets Unknown to man.”
I begged him to take me there That mysterious place Of crepuscular enlightenment.
His laugh swung into my head Like a hatchet, Grinding my request to a homicidal halt.
His eyes waxed a kindness rooted in a lie As he assured me, “Darling, they accompany me to the grave.”
The Solution
Pathologically dishonest You’ve always been a liar, And an unconvincing one at that; Which makes me the fool.
It was your eyes that kept me. Your sole redeeming feature: always on my side, eliciting the truth Forever giving your mouth away.
I don’t pretend to understand your compulsions (putting them kindly), But my days of tolerance ran out this morning.
It’s going to be alright though; I’ve worked out the cure to your ailment. I only ask for patience, my darling As I sew shut your instrument of lyrical falsehood And glue open your two tools of truth.
I’ll just go fetch Airplane glue, a needle, and Some thread.
Then all you need to do
Is hold still.
Bio: G.L. Pharaoh is a poet residing in Southern Florida. She is a voracious reader, writer, and painter. She is currently working toward publishing an anthology of her poems.