Into The Valley Of Death Poem by Susan Marie Watkins

Once,
In my youth,
Giddy with wine
I had a secret rendezvous.

My lover
Pulled me close
Caressed me with
Velvet hands.

Flushed and exhilarated,
That vibrant connection
Filled me with
Sweet excitement.

We capered on the grass,
We mocked death,
Whose bony fingers
Could not reach us.

But now I cower
As his skeletal claw beckons,
As his sulfurous stench
Envelops me

You are no longer here
To banish my fear.
I've been abandoned,
Your deep-sworn vow forgotten,