A Hearts Tightrope

When you have given yourself to another,
When you are in love,
You walk a perilous path,
A tightrope,
Ruby and velvet,
Laid across a chasm that seems familiar,
Yet terrifying all the same,
Romance is a game of balance,
Give and take,
Watch your footing,

Do not look down,
Nor left or right,
One side lies heartbreak,
The other a spousal thumbprint,
Sharks of grim dependencies wait below,
As black as despair,
Made of bottles and needles,
Stalking amidst shipwrecks of past trysts,
Splintered hearts of wood and all,
So keep true upon that rope my friend.

Domestic Bliss

I remember you vividly,
Sitting next to me,
Or were you standing over me?
Holding me perhaps too tight,
A living and breathing possession,
I was your toy soldier,

You showed your feelings openly,
Love letters in dark patches of skin,
Compliments tempered with caveats,
Invisible chains while away,
I believed it was stress or foul mood,
But you were Hyde without Jekyll,

Did we have a good life?
In our love nest of isolation,
An idyllic little boxing ring,
No friends allowed,
Don’t let the spies in,
They can’t see the real us,

It wasn’t all bad,
As you snored,
I breathed a sigh of relief,
When you left for the mines,
I didn’t flee,
Why didn’t I leave?

You said you loved me,
But your closed fists said otherwise,
You claimed to support me,
Then why could I only do wrong?
You didn’t want to hurt me,
Then why do I sustain scars years later?