“O Absalom”

Murder of Absalom

O Absalom!

O Absalom,

Ensnared by long hair in the

Boughs of  an oak,

Pierced through the heart three times

Yet your nature was  only to please.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I,

Pulled into  mysteries

Now abandoned by love

given over to lust

Charged with stolen rapture

Dizzy as a drunk dervish,

One hand upward to Heaven

One hand spilling to Earth

Skirts stiffened with sins hard as stone

Corrupted over a life time and now-

Flayed on an unending mandala.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – —

Mystery of Life,

Unstoppable desire.

O beautiful Absalom,

We float upon a divine river

Entangled in the reeds of human wanting.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

This is our nature,

This our calling while

Flesh answers to flesh.

What quarter be given when the heart is

Overwhelmed by passion’s excess?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Lie still — let the waters cleanse our loins,

Mud of the banks soothe our wounds,

Let our blood mingle with the floating grasses,

Our hearts sink beneath the surface.

Let the rivers of Babylon

Carry us away.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2010

Tags: "A Seasoning of Lust", O Absalom!, poetry