Death-Colored Eyes
Silken strands of midnight
Enshroud a countenance so fair
As to be mistaken with the pale moon
Against which she stands.
Slower than death, she extends to me
A hand with nails of polished red,
And she opens her mouth to speak,
But no sound issues forth,
Her voice lost in the chilling night,
Swallowed in the dark,
But lost only if there was any voice at all.
She grasps my hand in hers,
Burning cold stinging my flesh,
And drags me to her breast.
Her talons tear loose the cloth,
A most luxuriant white,
A beautiful gown to match her beauty.
My ears hearken to gentle bells
In a forgotten, distant place,
Yet the memory is loosed from my thought
When she plants my hand on her naked chest
To feel the sundered heart
That once throbbed within.
The stillness strikes as lightning,
And I've no choice but to yield;
My body, boneless, dangles in her embrace.
The minutes (or decades) pass me by,
And there I see the broken earth
Behind her, a pile beside the stone
And the hole like that in her breast.
Her fingers seek my heart,
They not polished, but bathed in blood.
And she explores my visage
With death-colored eyes,
Drawing from me a cry.
Oh, damned apparition!
What mockery of life is this
That stands before me,
Seeking that which I cannot give,
That which is no longer mine,
But belongs to my buried bride?
(Or once-buried, as fate would have it.)
God! The pounding in my head!
The torment of this twisted heart!
What has death become
To be not final?
'Tis now merely part of life,
And just as fleeting.
Dear spirit, whom once I loved,
I beg you, lay thee down to sleep!
And Lord, contemptuous God,
To you, I pray her soul to keep!
But what is this, fair maiden?
What mass that throbs in your hand?
No! Thief of love and life,
I beseech you, return to me my heart!
And take these bloodied lips from my mouth.
Accursed demon, this earth is cold,
Yet once again, we'll share a bed,
And share the warmth together
And share our eternal love.