Love Poem: Eliminationship
Lxnnnie Rutledzh Avatar
Written by: Lxnnnie Rutledzh

Eliminationship

As you brandish your corrosive cloak of calamity
    And cannons of musty dystopian dust,
I’ve eyed the serpents that tangle your family;
    Determined to render my shine to rust.

Their sly malevolence and curious pitch 
    Tells me more than you ever have,
They smile and nod with a copulous glitch
    Bereft of the insight I thought you had.

You played it so well; so naturally felt,
    It’s easy to rise with Venus in Hell,
But I walked with caution; reluctant to melt,
    With one eye hawked for a devious spell.

Peacefully spooning my enemy in sleep,
    On a bear trap bed with a hair trigger set,
Professing to rest while you bide anchor deep
    And emit the stale fragrance of past regret.

The gentle writhe and the slip inside;
    The trap goes off in this fatal lie,
With all the force of a raging tide,
    I crossed your heart and now you will die.

To wake up death and whisper the rules;
    In-between lines we ignore the words,
Like crafty creatures or misguided fools
    Squinting our eyes at love till it blurs.

And it hurts, I know, for it’s not really there,
    Your deception has turned on itself in despair,
Retreat to your hole with your impotent prayer
    As you cling to your lies that hang in the air.

There is something beautiful and delicate
Holding me together
That could fall apart at any moment.

And it’s not you.