Published in In Parentheses
It is cruel that the lovers
of the world are composed
of limbs and pieces
of their former beloved.
Cupid shoots scalpels
and it is hardly a fair trade–
a finger for an eye,
an arm for an amygdala.
It is cannibalistic, really.
To eat is to grow and to be
eaten is to love, and a heart
is full of protein to help
some voracious lover
hold the new appendages
up to their aching
mouth. And don’t
you know that lovers
can be lizards? They
can regenerate their lost
tails and regenerate them
and are often stronger–
it will never be identical,
of course, but it may be
knotted and gnarly and
lovely, and you know
what they say about
the unbridled beauty
and travesty of change.
My dear, I must admit
I fear that I do not have the
muscle to hold this hand
of yours much longer.
Jaden Fong 