Passion

The One with Whom I Now Lay

~ Iyan Igma

I noticed when we met today
The tragic, nostalgic, longing way
You looked at the one with whom I now lay.

She’d never give in to your whim,
Since she knows that your affection’s slim,
While I dote on her and make her heart brim.

Years hence she gave her heart to you,
And the softness of her body, too.
But you neglected her till she withdrew.

Your heart was bleeding in your eyes,
Seeing how her sun blazes the skies
When cherished as befits a wondrous prize.

So, have the moon you left her for
And brood on treasures that vaults can’t store,
For she’ll lie blithe with me forevermore.

Yonder Hollows of Eden

~ Iyan Igma

Near yonder hollows of Eden
By the banks of the rivers four,
A hopeless man lies a-bleedin’
In his own life’s pool on the floor.

God, angels, nor man can save him,
Since it is more than they can do
To witness him groan grave and grim
From where his sister ran him through.

She plunged the knife through his rib cage
And gave it a hideous twist
And was a gleeful sangrephage,
Licking spurts of blood from her wrist.

There have died many knights errant,
But ne’er so heartbroken and blue.
Adam and Eve are our parents,
I’m the lad, and the sister’s you.

Across the Thatch

~ Iyan Igma

Please reach ye here within my breast;
Thrust your hand ‘neath ribs and membranes,
And find the beat within my chest
Attached to arteries and veins.

You must feel how it pines for you;
Take it in one unholy snatch.
Look here, it beats constant and true,
And my blood spurts across the thatch.

I pledged to give my heart to you;
Please, squeeze it now with all your might
Till cardiac muscle seeps through
Your fist’s crevices with delight.

See now, it is like warm play dough;
It’s stopped bleeding, beating, feeling.
You’ve lost interest in me, ergo
My sight and blood are congealing.

As the Thornbirds

~ Iyan Igma

To think that I have loved as
The thornbirds on the vine,
Pure and sweet and passionate
And utterly sublime,

Beyond the wildest senses
Which I could never comprehend.
But such intensity comes at a price,
And my song is at an end.

The thorn in my chest, I can’t breathe;
So here I now die alone,
My soul having such a love
Beyond what could have been known.

And I would take three thorns
In my chest to feel again
The sweet intensity that filled me
Since my tragic love began.

Of the Passion That Once Was Ours

~ Iyan Igma

How do you think we could be friends
After such moments as we’ve shared?
That would be a torture that the
Inquisition would not have dared

To employ, for it has mercy.
Imagine us meeting as friends
Talking calmly while depriving
Your body’s lush touch from my hands.

And you would laugh while I would think
Of the moans you made bathed in sweat,
And try as I might to pretend,
Fiery eyes won’t let me forget.

Me? Content? While you’re behind glass
And I’m behind electric bars,
A cell made of my emotions,
Of the passion that once was ours?

What Easy Lies

~ Iyan Igma

What easy lies do you tell me now,
While emotion is clouding my mind
And any words that you would profess
Seem as from an oracle divine?

And how much of you can I believe
While love’s naïve idealism blinds
When you profess your undying love
As our bodies now lie intertwined?

Will you leave me when the night is through,
Having found what you had sought and more,
Content to have used me willingly
Since you’re the one person I adore?

When No One Can See

~ Iyan Igma

The lamps are out and your knock comes,
You stand with coat obscuring face.
I open the door; you glance ’round,
Hoping you weren’t seen in this place.

You tell me with the lights down low
That you love me with all your heart,
But leave me before the dawn comes
So that none would think you a tart.

You pass me by in the public,
Not even bothering to smile.
I know should I give affection,
That you would be moved with denial.

Later your knock would come again,
And you’d apologize to me,
Trying to explain how it is
You love me when no one can see.

And For Dulcinea

~ Iyan Igma

let me find out for myself
if she’s bad for me
please don’t interfere again
even should misery

await me like an angry mob
dragging me to the guillotine
just be a grandmother
quilting at the gruesome scene

who wants a little of my blood
to speckle her as my head falls.
i can’t listen to your advice,
for love awaits and duty calls.

like a hero I must rush in
my sword flashing with derring-do;
maybe I’ll be victorious
just bid me luck and sad adieu.

Sancho Panza, you can’t save me,
and there is no panacea
to prevent me fighting windmills
for love and for Dulcinea.

El Vicio de Amor

~ Iyan Igma

I don’t smoke or drink or bite my nails,
Huff fumes, or sniff paint or glue.
I’m not a glutton for junk food or snails,
Nor do I sleep soundly the whole day through.

I avoid drugs as if they are a plague,
And I don’t even gamble with my life.
I don’t call in sick for faux-ague;
My words don’t bludgeon or cut like a knife.

I’m known for my valor and sincerity,
For being selfless and full of virtue.
I’m not full of lust or venality.
In fact, my only vice is loving you.

For everyone honestly seems to think
(As if they honestly thought I cared)
That you have caused my brain to shrink,
And I’m intoxicated, crazed, and impaired.

By Your Pleasured Smile

~ Iyan Igma

For this treasured moment you are mine.
I can tell by your pleasured smile
And how happy cheeks glow and shine.
Will you still love me after a while?

When you wake up in the fair morning,
Will the world be bathed in beauty?
Will this smile still be adorning
The visage that’s worth more than booty?

Right now I can pose any question,
And I’ll hear the correct reply
Escape the lips of perfection,
Such words sweeter than a lullaby!

How sweet it is when we’re truly one,
Enveloped in a wave of love,
And you’re radiant as the sun
And heaven’s come to earth from above.