Inspired by Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famously icky poem.


Dun and Done

How did I love her? She should have asked,
But her world was full, and I was superfluous.
How did I save up to buy her those candies,
The ones I gave Grandma? The ones I discovered
Were ashen inside, and awful to taste? How
Did my love become bitter before it diminished,
Before I became what I am: the moth, also
Ashen, outside in a wilderness, wishing for
Nourishment, waiting in vain, as she turned
Away, toward what she said that she wanted,
As I, on this window screen, wounded, grew
Flatter and drier, and, ultimately, became
The husk I had hoped she would keep me
From being, a moth, not anything, lover
Unloved, as her man, with his brush,
Cleans the screen?



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 18 times
Written on 2011-02-15 at 12:33

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