Effigy

She stuck into me like a shard; “Pick me up,” she said. I liked the way she beckoned; She liked the way I bled. She had the look that ruined gods, With dark eyes and a temptress air. She set fire to my virgin Eden, And I burned within in her stare. And so I took her by the hand— She was broken as clean as a bone. She said “I am empty, forsaken;” “I am tired of being alone.” My enigma, My sexual effigy; Jarred from a distant dream. My inebriation, Forbidden love, My incomparable supreme. I watched her wipe the lipstick onto her forearm, And let her draw me into herself. All night I held her, sleepless, As the numbness began to quell. For the first time I felt something quiver, And burst like an unfettered dream. When she woke, we lie there, Open. Then it was time for me to leave.