emotions one hundred years old

trace their rivers on brittle parchment

ivory like pale skin

with the river Nile upon their banks

promising sweet fertility and nights where a lover's embrace

leaves no regret raw upon your heart.

--

emotions nailed to bloody brick walls

caress glass instruments over merciless welts

and laugh softly at your discomfort

--

listen to you beg for apathy

physical pain is easier to bear, you whisper

--

and time is linear so I know they’ll heal.