KS Culbreth

Love Me, Just Once, Phantom of My Shadows

Love me, just once, phantom of my shadows,
Whom I claim to hear, world fast asleep,
With such conviction I find me at the window
Tapping, tapping till from the bramble creeps
The very bones and flesh of what is haunt;
The Siren of my fancy cast out-of-doors
Where I find me barefoot toward the taunt,
Promises of pleasure, hopes to endure.
Love me, just once, love me, and whilst we love
The archangels will serenade on harps,
And, after having loved, they will approve –
To our boldness they will applaud, but sharp.
— My compelling lure, in the late, sole, lown,
— Fingers thrummed my heart, I fell by dawn.