Excerpt from "Outside, Inside"

The Test: An Allegory.

An enchanted dream

breezes through my mind, an echo

of the past, of happier days, or maybe

the future, of joyful things to come.

But lo!  What is this I espy, a creature

foul and wicked, utterly detestable

and yet

so attractive, beguiling, alluring…

But what is this?!  It has a name,

emblazoned

on its forehead, and its name is this;

TEMPTATION.

I ponder this dream, and it seems to me

that TEMPTAION has taken a form,

more definite than before.

A Woman.

A woman I know.

yet I know her not.  She looks deep

into my eyes, piercing me…

and I understand.

A PLOT.

A CONSPIRACY!

… to keep me from my love, my love

so sweet and true, true

in ways beyond comprehension, beyond words.  But as I turn

to walk away, I find

my adversary standing, facing me, no matter

which way I turn.

Her eyes are boring into me, into

my soul, and she opens

her mouth as if to speak,

but says nothing.

So in my despair I ask,

“Who are you?”

To this she mockingly replies,

Read the full poem in my collection Outside, Inside.