carmen et error.

between the amber, cream, flax and
goldenrod, the skies fold in sorrow
with intent; there is little recourse
but to drink the hemlock -

exile, mephitic to the discernible
senses. the demon perched atop
a soul in limbo is quick to anger;
the teacup shatters, the sun sours
and the ocean’s tides fall and rise
to the breathing of sirens.

aglaope’s humming; a lambent
call to the void. forlorn as it was,
i set sail to those western shores.

steadfast. death is the forgetting
of the foreword to life. steadfast.
the whirring winds offered no
respite; poseidon revokes safe
passage.

i swirl the goblet – mephitic.

the wanderer was lost before
this journey began;

i.

to drown the past in honeyed
water so it’s forever saccharine
is an act of self-sabotage.

ii.

true knowledge is unattainable
when the care of the soul is
neglected for the heart.

iii.

ambrosia is backsweetened with
nostalgia – catharsis was never a
true option. how could it, when it
meant acknowledgement?
lips unfurl to the sight of
a rising goblet;

there is little recourse
but to drink the hemlock.

my debt of gratitude
for you remains unpaid,

in my next life, i will pay it.
i won’t forget you
or the debt.