BLACKHOLE SUN 2. Poem by Peter Verhelst

2.
We were not useful, jewels, and squandered luxuries,
Our love consumed itself as it burned,
We gave and took with sheer abandon, boundaries
Unknown to us, the thing we never learned

Was not to tell, why should we, lovers rather handle
What's abundant, being boys who managed to conjure
Gold from flesh and muscle. Flickering flames on a candle
Burning at both ends. Something halfway a creature

And God. Both greedy and needy. Crazy. Two kingly serpents
In a mating dance that seemed eternal; nothing
Is eternal though, my love: eternity is desire's burden,

Of which we were aware, we wanted that in all respects,
To be exhausted by us rather than washed out. It's all or nothing.
You are my all. Take me. From smile to sex.