The Flesh

I shall be well rid of you,

Bright alien guest-

Thorn beneath my pillow,

Barb in my breast.

When you are gone from me,

Spirit, I shall rest.

I shall lay me down then

For my long sleep.

No one shall waken me

To laugh or to weep,

No one urge me on again

Where hills are steep.

It was you who gathered me

Into flesh and bone,

Made me share the strange griefs

That were yours alone.

But for you, I might have been

A bird, a tree, a stone.

When I would have drunk and fed

In my own fashion,

You. grew sick, and turned me

From the feast of passion,

Forcing me to live again

Jamie Sexton Holme

On your frugal ration.

Yet I am lonely now,

Knowing you must go-

Thorn beneath my pillow,

Lover, friend and foe.

Stay with me a moment...

Oh, I love you so!