love?

My high school teacher told me to draw love. I drew a butterfly with it's wing torn off. He said "too dark". I drew a skeletal hand breaking through the earth to seize its prey. He didn't ask again.

it stalked me in its
stealth i did not
see its glistening
teeth in the dark
in my sleep i knew
not where it lay
clothed as a man
waited in the shadows
for a moment unaware
of its power
its strength it
overtook me
made love to me
in the day
bared its claws and
descended
could i cry for help
no it was too late
i lie there taken
by this creature
said it was my lover
but still i pretended not
to see its nails
jutting out to cut
hot flesh
descending ripping
my chest open my
heart was pounding
sheer horror
ecstasy and all
the while it whispered
in my ear i
couldn't stop it
my heart
was in its hands
i saw its treacherous smile
as i slid into the
black i could
hear it lapping at the
edges of my
sanity
sucking
eating my
life i had no strength
no will such
strange desire
this creature it
stole my love
so quickly
i tried to snatch
my heart back
even as i heard
it smacking
its strangely tender lips
the darkness
swallowed me whole
and it was so perfect
even as i felt myself
dying
crying
no let me go

the next morning the sun peeked
through the curtains.
i saw the creature's face.
it was only
a man
but still
i knew
i was dead.

Author's Note

Heart wallpaper stock image

Reviews

[therisa]

Too often, it's the one, which we share our love with, who destroys us, mentally and physically. Worse, when it's a family member, who does it, to us, making our recovery, all the harder. And yes, "love" does kill, as we hide it, under many other names, like honour killings, because we can't face the truth, about ourselves.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for digging this one out of the pile.

[therisa]

Your welcome, KL. I like to read older posts, to see where a person has progressed from.

[Lyn Anderson]

This one is from 1994. Another one didn't go so well. :)

[therisa]

Grow and learn, KL.

[Coyote Poetry]

Many way to explain love. I like the way you did in this poem. To some people love can steal our hope and freedom. I was surprised by the ending. I like the song "Love stinked." Never knew love could kill. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Lyn Anderson]

I am surprised I missed this review. It makes me feel good that you have commented on my poetry from the beginning.