when i say
you slay me
i mean
you lap my soul of steel
with your razor tongue
sending flinty sparks flying
until my body
catches smokeless fire
then you
put me
out

and when i say
out
i mean
Jesus

my eyes
crying
cold
air in my lungs
and your

name
your
name
in me
drowning

and
who am i
when i give in
to you
and what
does it mean

i want
my candor back
too late and
you laugh at me
wondering
if I could get
lost
in your eyes

©A. D. Joyce, 2014