This serpent that
Crawls into our inner workings
And sheds it’s skin
Leaving empty shells of
Lovers that didn’t last
And where are all the
Broken hearts held
When they have become
Little more than a painful memory
Like the sore spot
After a tooth is pulled
That hurts so good to
Irritate with a curious tongue
What is this love
That smells of lilacs
And stinks of death
Comforts like sunshine
Empties like erosion
Makes one cry with happiness
And laugh with pain
What is this love
That can roll in like fog
Slowly choking with poisonous gas
Lining your insides
Until you wake up one day
A zombie with vampirish tendencies
The living undead
Unable to function without
The life of another
Or can hit you like a stray bullet
As you casually go about your day
With so much to live for
And as you feel the blood
Running out of you
Helpless to stop it
You realize there’s
Nothing you can do
You’ve fallen in love
What is this love
This festering sore that
Doesn’t even hurt so bad
Until it starts to heal
And you realize
You miss the miserable bastard
You miss the stench
The aggravation
The way you could show it off
And tell everyone how you
Got it in the first place
Everyone tries to give advice
Especially those who either
Have their own sore or are
Healing from one
But none of them really knows anything
What is this love
This werewolf that emerges
Every full moon
This infestation that mates
Every new spring
This monster that hides
In unsuspecting closets
This demon that can
Unleash the powers of hell
Or give you everything you
Thought you wanted
And make you realize your
Deepest darkest fears
Give me merciful oblivion
Sweet solitude
A padded room
And a menu of drugs
Freedom from surrender
Or freedom to surrender
Or something, something
Empty
What is this love
I’ve said that to say this
I love you
And I’ll never forgive you for it
by Empress Nzingha
© 2000 empressnzingha@hotmail.com