i began this poem determined
to never mention the word "love" again.
but who would really go on living
if they never experienced it?
i will let it flow right through me.  i had forgotten
about this growing beast inside me--if i stop fighting,
i no longer have an enemy.
this kind of transcendental love
evokes such criticism, i must be prepared
to be alone if i would feel
great love..

rejection,anger, punishment--these are comfortable
feelings, the ones we practice every day.
control has so many faces; and love, likewise.
inside me there's a mythological beast
waiting to unfold--and i will be its feast.
if i tell you that this illustration at the top of the page
is part bird, part pig, part human, and part microbe,
would you believe me?   fantasy is stronger
than reality, i knew that once...
i sleep sometimes,
but it is the night that dreams.

love is so scarce it becomes a miracle,
so, like a mythological beast, i will love you
and devour you. it is pain and torment
that keeps us humane

and all my mistakes with you
are mistakes of the heart.

my heart.  the one that, like a dragon slayer,
is rich in virtue.