Caution

Don't transfix me with a gaze that shakes my complacency and threatens to resurrect feelings I let die--actually bludgeoned to death— eons ago. Don't speak to me in that seductive tone, reminding me that I am flesh, not a well-oiled machine. Don't touch me with demanding hands that seek the warmth and fulfillment I can't, or won't, provide. A final warning: If you must try to summon forth a dead or dormant thing, do so not simply for the challenge of conquest. Awakened things must be nurtured. Posted October 16, 2017 October 29, 2018, entered in Julia Ward's contest--Favorite Free Verse from October or November 2017 Entered in Brian Strand's Contest