Like Alcohol and Kindred

Like Alcohol

He says I am like alcohol
he says he cannot see me anymore
he must give up drinking

My love is like a drug
he loses his mind when he is with me
imbibing is not safe if you want to be sane

he is leaving me; his cup of love has run dry
his senses dulled but not from drinking
of my love
something dark has come over him
some fear for the future

I am like alcohol
drink of me and I’ll fuck you up

Kindred

I know you
though I just met you
I watched your reaction
that glint in your eye before you looked down
followed by the beaming smile and willing hand

You are like me
fine but not
reserved and outspoken
lost in a whorl of unexpressed emotion
comfort and stillness of mind our goal

You are so pleasant
so solid
dependable and easy going
the mask donned and ready for widespread approval
no one would guess

You may not have awareness
Maybe it has not hit you yet
when it arrives, it comes like flood water.
there is not a bucket big enough to bail
but we know how to build dams

Genuine feats of engineering
litter our subconscious
dams high and precarious
with locations secret from ourselves
almost forgotten

We plug the dyke
when leaks are few and slow
again and again until the architecture
is immense and unstable
joy, tears, anger, and fears secured behind these walls
until they are not