Unto the Gates

"Follow me, and do not be led astray"
You said
With back arched and tongue
Lasciviously flicked
In my general direction.

"Lead, and I'll not be far behind"
I said
With fool's hope and heart
Open to all possibility
Of you and I.

Oh, that I were able to turn back time
(But not like Cher, even though that was
Our Song)

It took me many mournful months
To come to terms
With the way you the waylaid the wayward ways
Throughout
Our tender summer, now bitter hiver.

February came
That stunted month
Runt to Mighty August,
Proud March
Prosperous October.

"Once more into the jaws of hell"
I thought to myself
Like some modern-day Orpheus
Or another unlucky fool
Laid down in tales of times gone by.

You blinked once, twice
But not a third time
Scissors, dangling as did Delila's
My hair, not cropped
But still not long for this world.

Gripping his lyre,
Orpheus stepped
And forwards
And through
He rose
Ridding the past of its poison.

Lain, pieces cast
Like chicken bones after a feast
Your body
Lies
The final words to escape from
Her Lips:

"Do you believe in life
after love?"