The Pleasures of Love

your doll face , your doll hands
your heart beats inside a cage
and you love him
       the others leave you
in between boredom and
         annoyance
his falcon eyes and
  smooth body
      so strong and filled
  with secrets

     but i must tell you
that we men are made cruel by
       this world and
brought to it honestly
      it is the throne
 of all the things
          that we are
and we will hurt you
    in ways you cannot
understand
       or be ready for

he will want more and more of you
 until it burns your world
     and you are vanished
       You will be a rabbit in
         a wildfire

will turn from you when you
       give him everything

 will only be with you
  when he is with you
 until he is with another
       in a few days
 you will be a punchline
      to a throw away joke.

         you may hear it
           a dozen times
            but believe
          it only once.
don't say I didn't warn you.

In this Land

Beneath my feet
is the only land I own
and that feels as true
as the handle of a good hammer
  or my favorite pen.

Why is it, then, that
  my tongue is bitter
dust and something  does
 not thread smoothly,
  when i hear my neighbor's grief?

  This morning, I heard children
       sing "This land is your land
         this land is my land..."
  and I began to cry
           was sputtering,choking.

     My eyes were blizzard blind
         salt flooded, my breath betrayed
    my classroom whiteboard, unwilling and blank
       old glory in the corner, hanging from the wall
          making me feel alone.

Copyright © Paul Love | Year Posted 2019