No Place To Hide

I harbor a mean spirit

but not in my soul

He roams through my

consciousness as havoc and pain

Trying to break through

to that place where he’s banned

Trying to break through

to where my innocence lives

Again and again he forces

his will

But it all goes for naught and he

waits till I sleep

Where Laura’s on guard

in my dreams to protect

With insomniac hell

he still tries to invade

Her will ever stronger

than his fleeting advance

Each night he comes knocking

as she turns him away

Until with mocking futility

he warns me again

In words that are cursed

and bathed in disgust…

 

“You can run to your Muse

and hide if you wish

 

But temptation and trial

are served from my dish

 

Go be safe in the womb

but remember outside

 

When you leave her protection,

—there is no place to hide.

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2016)