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POETRY
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I CANNOT LOVE YOU
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Maria Alexander
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Maria
lives in Los Angeles with her two ungrateful cats. Her fiction and
verse have appeared to some acclaim in numerous publications such
as Gothic.net, Paradox Magazine, and Chiaroscuro
Magazine, as well as several print anthologies. In 2002, Medium
Rare Books released Biting Midnight: A Feast of Darksome Verse,
her dark poetry collection with Christina Kiplinger-Johns. For a
full list of her literary crimes and award threats, visit http://www.thehandlesspoet.com.
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 I
CANNOT LOVE YOU
It would be like
Eating coal
Black dust coating my fingers
Grimy smudges on the glass
As I wash you down
With lye
I cannot love you
It would be like
Sleeping in fire
Swirling ash stinging my nose
Smoke waltzing on my cheeks
As skin weeps from
My bones
I cannot love you
Because then I would
Confuse the flood for the blizzard
And the wind for the rain
The crypt for the cradle
And disease for eudemonia
My dear
(Madness would then strangle
every thought...)
But still --
I vomit
I choke
I cough.
I burn
Drown, shiver
And rot
As the contagion of you
Weakens my blood
And blights my heart
With your name.
© 2004 Maria Alexander, all rights reserved
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