date from paradise

animated corpses searching for their out-
line, we make love and tie it to a balloon

let the ribbon slip away
our handfuls, nothing

short of grasping, fish-
mouths puckered

arms outstretched
bodies wooden and spongy

hollowed out
getting stuffed

we merely seek a new sun
during the break of day

before internal pressure
pops the egg, and flames

dance upon the grave
turning in its grave

shrink

why, you built the labyrinth
how is it that you're lost?

this reshaping soul
wanders in search of itself
dusty walls with poetry
scratched in by finger nubs

remember something
beautiful, it helps

so here is how to fill a void
you build a labyrinth
surround yourself with yourself
the void disappears

and so do you

what is lost and what is left

steadfastly unsteady, trembling and sick
lone temple I loved, 'midst miles of brick
wandering on lame limbs, all former allure
peeled away and drifting into fog-obscured
footfalls. I watched you, as if awake
(and which state of consciousness has more at stake
when the only blank slate afforded, is every world
before your eyes unfurled?)
stumbling under your own bulk
smiling as not to sulk
but keep the worshippers content waiting
as their beloved, quietly self-desecrating
freezes and solidifies, like a heart... immortalized
testament of mortal eyes