Love, the Interlude

For years I fought, thinking my
Entanglement was imposed onto me
By some outward source
The willingness of lost control

Amongst our heady fights and caresses
I was happy to bite and whirl, limbs splayed
Then return to my normal cage of constraints
Away to build again, what we knocked down

I wanted to strip and leave myself tacked
On your walls, some consciousness left to view
Your dalliances without my heart intact

In my room, above the twin bed, by the window
The imprint you left was soft, but some nights
It glowed with defeat and fatigue

We were cutting ourselves
Like wild animals, sparing and lusting,
Ripping shreds in ourselves, self-defeating youth

Still, when we were poured out and exhausted
I felt the emptiness swell with you
A calling across this void

After unclenching my fists
I found your hand still, in mine

In Knowing Who I Am Not

I

The definitions were placed
Like strips of cloth
Soaked in plaster
Pressed into the constructed mold
The fingers pushing the frayed edges
Intentions filling rather than created

The viewer picks the method
Of observations
The mold is easy to pick up
Look through broken eyes
Shaping the viewer instead
These instincts of self reflection
Are betrayals
Why use me to see yourself?

II

The haze in the photographs
Hides the lines at odds
The face crooked, smiling unease
Like a bear in the cage
Claws in eyes

Filter yourself
It is not me anyhow
We are not these surfaces