the latch with no lock
save that biohazard label
detrimental as hope
what inside, then?...only lies
wrapped in cellophane like a bonbon
it's just as sweet
just as sweet as his honey tongue



she had carried that box for years
until at last she buried it deep in his heart
and tamped the earth down close upon it
scattered leaves and left no mark upon his surface
ephemeral as breath
glanced back over his shoulder
she transformed into a pillar of ash
sifted and scattered on the wind



there was no hope, not for her
and he, constant as eden, remained
monolithic and underground
hands in his pockets, he hummed to himself
eternity passed him like a river
the casket within his cell
metamorphised
what was once only carbon
condensed like coal
became diamond


lumineous, it's brilliance lit him from within
she emerged from thin air
made tangible by desire
and harvested that burden