Love Poem: Compass
Marsha Hughes Avatar
Written by: Marsha Hughes

Compass

He told her
She was a gift,
A timely offering
From the universe,
A universe 
Ruled by a sadistic god
Holding a compass 
In his cruel hand

The god pierced the center
Of the invisible circle of time
And pencil down, 
The compass began
Its predictable course

It began with two strangers
Magnets, too close together
A familiar dance, pushing, pulling
A pause, seduction,  
She traced the smile of Ares
With her soft finger tips
And watched desire 
Morph into
A promise

Delayed gratification 
Then a perfect kiss
Soft, light, hard, deep
So much electricity
It could’ve stopped a bus

He wanted more
Spoke of love
Got her high off his breath
She resisted, he persisted
Relentless

When finally she returned his love,
A bad moon rose
And one wolf 
Ate the other
Until there were not even bones left
Of the passion, friendship, twin-ship
They shared

She had not understood
When he warned her
About the two wolves
Living in his head, his heart, his soul
She had her own wolves to feed
She should have looked deeper
Been wiser

He now crouches in the dark
Tail between his legs
Still and quiet
A muzzled animal
Some comfort provided
By his lair
And the wolf mother he still worships
Who has smothered him
Never allowed him to become
The man he was meant to be

Meanwhile I wait, 
Hopeful and hopeless
While the compass completes
Its final pass
The end, and the beginning
When we were
Simply, separate
Two strangers, not even friends