i've decided--
coming home to nothing
is worse than
staying home with nothing.
i can't fix
either one.

are you sleeping?
or are you just pretending?
the Goddess of Mercy
is floating face down
in the river.

i know--and therefore i fear--
there will not be another like you.
there wasn't previous, why
should there be after?

should i tell you my real name?
it's She who has seen the light.
there is no cure for not-knowing
except knowing,
however bad the cure tastes.
the disease is death
and disaffection.

take pity on me. you came too late my love,
we were both already dead.
the dream hovers over me at night
with its great wings

and watches me sadly.

don't forget me--

when it came to you, my love,
i was fierce
and otherworldly