But,
I am in love with you.
Why feign that I am not?
Why silence the words that sit upon my lips,
That drip from my skin,
That shine from my eyes,
That everyone knows,
That you knew before anyone,
That you pulled from me,
That you saw would be true
When your eyes first found me
A year ago
In your slick, black suit
With your penetrating, demanding eyes
With your commanding, silent gaze?
I was angry with you.
How dare you gaze upon me,
Stare at me lengthily
And not complete the phrase?
How could I not sense?
How could I not notice,
You, the most handsome of your group,
So self-assured, even if you were shy,
Staring so single-mindedly;
Was I not to notice, truly?
Was I not to hold your gaze?
Would that I had been that doe
In that rainy meadow,
Ears pricked,
Returning your gaze, innocently…
But you did not peek at me innocently,
Did you?
You looked at me with intent.
You saw into my soul.
You knew me.
You commanded me.
Instantly.
And composedly walked away.
We loathe those birds-of-prey
Whose glittering feathers woo fine women
He who knows his beauty
Fashions his allure like preened wings
Displayed for all to see
Pricks his talons into lovely creatures
So he can as easily withdraw
Leaving his mark of bleeding hearts in his wake.
You are not of them;
And yet, you have as much power.
Would you have me deny it,
Just because you choose to?
I am yours to command,
Harpooned through the heart,
Strung along through your seas,
A weakened beast, weakened by your greater will.
I have thrashed.
I have fought.
I have cried and screamed.
I have begged.
I have relented.
I am yours to string up, as you like.
Make of me your trophy, for your wall.
Make of me your meal for months.
Feed me back to the fishes,
My blood spilling upon your ship.
Make of me your greatest story;
To tell in aged days
Of the great beast you caught
In fabled waters, in the days of your youth
Who loved you so dearly
Swam so innocently by your side;
Sang painful, heartfelt melodies,
Spoke all the secrets of these seas
That pierced your ears and stung your heart
That almost made you weep.
They say a mermaid’s tears are rare, indeed,
Yet mine spill a million times
Pearls like raindrops in the ocean’s deep.
Have you no heart
That you try so hard to deny
Your lust for this forbidden creature
Your love for my innocence
Your loneliness for my companionship
Your longing for my heart
My lingering on your lips?
Do you forget so easily
As I do
The dreams we make
The worlds we transcend
The patterns we break
With every touch
With every kiss
With every word between you and me?
What care you for the future?
What care I for the past?
What else is there than you and I
In the foreverness of now?
Kiss me again
Love me again
Touch me again
Listen, again.
We are again
And again
And again
The foreverness of now.