A beggar prostrate at her feet,
spine pinned by the heel, crushed
beneath her weight. A morsel of mercy?
She denies me a crumb.
A minute, a word, a breath, all beyond
her tightening budget, shrewd
even in the growing depression.
Each smile, touch, caress guarded
by airtight hands and barred lips.
Beyond the white picket fence
is a world I no longer know.
Chained to her porch with a leash
around my neck knotted with a noose,
the spine snaps whenever I stray.
Forever in purgatory, my sentence
for my sin. I listened to the serpent.
I swallowed her apple.
She swallowed me whole.
Leave a Reply