Consequences Of The Dumb Lover Poem by RIC BASTASA

because of love
you are ousted from the palms of convenience

now you are alone in the house
for he comes only when he needs your flesh

pretty dumb, you are such a dumb damsel
native, non-eloquent,
not familiar to the guile & guises of love
and lust
you shall suffer i expect that
you shall be shedding tears alone on the confusing darkness
you hear the sounds of bad omen
the malevolent owl perched on a tree front of your window
at twelve

i could have laughed until morning
until i have seen you fetch the water again from the well
of true love

your eye sockets look like sunk ships
your veins dry up like creeks on drought

surprisingly, you move on
because you still love him after he slaps you because the fish
broth is too salty

when the lights are off
you become more alive again