Love Suffocates

Love suffocates
when you know you
don’t deserve it

But you still feel guilty
when you dodge
and desert it

Their hugs will smother you
Warm looks chill you
to the bone
Their cup of good cheer
and milk of mother
are hemlock, and their
compliments sting like hurled stones.

Running away seems like good service
Love suffocates
when you know
you don’t deserve it.

They don’t seem to understand
you only look like a man
they once knew.
Demons speak through you like a ventriloquist.
A fallen angel’s hand suffices for a spine
while you turn away from invited bliss
because you are indebted with a spiritual fine.

Taxing you night and day, well,
you’ll never get out of debt.
And so, your soul you sell,
to subsist in eternal regret.
The demons won’t let you reach out
and take extended hands
You delude yourself into thinking
that no one understands.

Love suffocates
when you know
you don’t deserve it
A true cliche’ love can’t be destroyed
And you still feel guilty
when you dodge
and desert it.
But guilt and self-loathing won’t
ever fill the void.