Chivalry Undone

All this time
there were
the secrets and
giggles and
quiet fears
and losses shared.
We were
carried within
the same womb
of insecurities
and past-life debris.
We never had
enough time
to finish each
gory detail of life
we needed to
poke and prod
and turn around
in our minds
to grasp the path
that should be laid
before us.
There was
never enough
time for me
to guard
you against
your downfalls
and enemies.
There was just
never enough time.

And loyalty
was a tangible thing,
as unbreakable as
a priest’s vows
and menacing
and protective
as a stone wall.
I wanted you
to release me
like a hound
on your enemies
to fight the fight—
your wounds were
too deep for the war—
and to show you
the glories of
man-freedom.
There was
a place to be safe
and you.

There is
no more
that can be said.
There is
not enough time
to mend
what has been torn.
Your armor
is lust and
your weapons
are flesh.
You are
the concubine
of all that will
destroy you.

But I wish you well.