grace in a poison fruit

crunch time, take the bait when the river will soon run dry and the pebbles rattling inside begin as a dull ache - swallow with lots of water, hunger retreats, then a hasty decision looms larger, till the panic begins to set in when it is becoming clear that short cuts within a mountain pass lead to hidden caves, open mouths welcoming as a safe passage is taken to be as advertised, labels don't lie right? but the acid is caustic, burning prickly heat begins to erode bones no longer dense with an eyelid opening. interested, questioning when marrow leaks into flesh eager for the silver linings to merge with frowns dissipating when wide eyed dragons gulp, taste the essence of life sold out, uncomprehending inert body twitching away trying to compose back dignity lost, with hair grown long it touches the warm membrane covering earth's gentle breaths. heaving again, a sigh as fading time begins to pulse erratically on a nervous branch extending with many possibilities, still could be when a dragon senses marrow tainted with love. what poison it is to flesh unable to comprehend this essence of giving, of sacrifice, of turning the other cheek and help is far away, in another space time path turned to stone. hard, ungiving, cold, the pebbles are marked, carved with words. i hate you. then flesh turned to wine, sweet comforting wine erasing permanent frowns with a twist, a turn, a leg has fallen deep into a hole made from a sink. drooping hair lie still on earth, made into a blanket where a traveler learns to be still, to make pretend for the words have come apart when acid meets a body of regret, of anguish, of lament when sacrifices begin to add up. of the soul. an accountant tries to tally the transactions, with something missing, that heart given to the dragon whose mirth is spitting out love indigestible. eats up the rest, the parts given freely, those short cuts with labels pointing all along to the myriad avenues on how it could turn out. then the lost heart is held as a ransom, to turn things around, to beat once again ... ... forgotten pacts made in space time caves, where glittering stars pointed light yonder. take a few steps backwards, the dried land without a flowing river to wash away hard rocks at the bottom. they loom larger than life till the soul cringes when stars wink out. fade out again, the nemesis is a dear friend clinging on to heart, warming to the roses planted, the roots cultivated in a plain riddled with pepper and corn. most of them quite unpalatable, the bait itself turned sour then fell off the branch that no longer had need to nourish temptation ignored. wine and roses simply did not mix quite well when the hour drew closer to that witching hour, when stars once again flared in a cave that held all the most valuable. and it was here a traveler wrapped his blanket close, time warps. time became like pepper and corns, riddled with many sink holes that stretched out like a vast desert swallowing up many rivers of life. call it love, call it home.