For Roberta

Locked away from what was rightfully yours to keep

I do not purchase or steal
                       But circle the flame.

 
Kept away from what you hold back
I do not earn or spend
but swallow the fuel.

 
Shut away from what I can’t handle
I misuse such words as
beauty and truth.
 

Swallowing sword
Escaping from bed
From all the evil comfort
You promise with your eyes.

 
I try to distinguish your voice
From a thousand others.

 
Wearing my own feet and hands
I try to peek into the empire world
The soup you’re caught up in
And I suffocate
But can not perish

 Like in the dream of waking up
You emerge
The princess retrieve
By the thin morsel of air
Above your medium.

Robert J. Richkin

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