i.

clung

tied

what is the difference?

all to do with proximity

one is chosen

the other abhorred.

at first i clung and now i feel tied

a tiger baited by flaming sword

caught in bear's paw

agony.

curiosity is dangerous but yet

all the books said that love was the most

the greatest - void

and so eagerly i wound through

the dark and shifting paths

unable to find my way back

unwanting

choosing, carefully selecting

my prison.

ii.

what do you do when you discover

you were chasing a wraith, a shadow?

i watched as you led yourself

pushed yourself to extremes

and longed to wiped the tears that snaked themselves

down unwilling cheeks, from blind eyes

oh my child, with all those dark

and seeping thoughts leaking from your ears

and eyes, blackened blood.

you will learn that you are not the warrior

you once believed yourself to be.

come away easy

to sleep.

iii.

the forests, once filled with spirit
now seem empty, there is no guiding light here

i am a spinning compass – ungrounded, lost
in the middle of the blackest heart

starving for warmth.

and it is here, in the deepest valley I found you
my heart leapt with anxious joyfulness
my hands shook

you turned

we talked of nothing of consequence
i, filled to the brim, lightheaded, eager

discovering love

you returned it with blankness
a stare

and
then dissipate

v.

young warrior with your reckless heart
how beaten is it now?

like a cat you must retreat, lick your wounds
do not allow the stinging barbs of that forest
to pierce your heart and destroy it.

innocent and curious child
you must not be bitter now.

wear your love like a crown.