i.

Tonguing whispers of ancient loves • that vanish in tears, dissonant • kisses fall on ears echoes • deafen, mention in their passing • unpleasantness just how pleasant it • was, the intention, to have • been wanted at all, even • though how situations developed and • were mishandled birthed revelations, confirmed • as misled and wished less-independent • and more Stockholm Syndromed those • whisked into bed, those whose • night-stands were wounds opened, filed • cabinets the broken locks of • which every encounter managed to • shackle again when attached, for • the flame of breath one • sees before they hear of • how it ends, with them • as a victim, is the • same tale jail-broken incel-mates pretend • their apparent turnaround turns into • fiction, yet how to listen • makes all the difference, since • letting in someone so distant • invites exile and abandon in • abundance, for with wandering men • accompanies them their demons, each • feeding on unsuspecting companions, making • of communion a mockery, every • sentence a farce, a satire • compliment meant to con and • compound how open one can • become being consumed by being • made to come, when called, • when summoned, for it is • you whose evocation provokes his • appearance, even day-dreaming of ways • in which things play out • between you and your fantasy • sycophant both inform and manifest • latent desires you long were • wont to ghost, play out • what should not be performed, • deny no alternative version of • yearnings thirst makes more perverse, • and from your mind’s-eye into • waking-life those gluttons burst forth, • dewy with sweat beading adieus • met with teeth grinning at • meat greeting a bounty of • simulacrum beauty to nurse starved • vanity, lips lifting their gristle • to lick, what you hurry • to gorge on only blurries • the boundary between what seems • merely visionary and reality, worsens • want to worry without so • much as alerting you to • the altered vermin toward which • you scurry, furious this opportunism • of spirit to turn illusions • of missed opportunity to calamity • we imbue with agency and • endure for the sake of • poetry, beware the allure of • he whose words of charm • are glamoured-over songs of warning, • never ignore how powerful the • pull of a vagabond whose • hurt your search for more • encourages to pour out a • heart robbed of soul, for • •

                    ii.

in he comes, Cartaphilus, Cain • robed in world-weariness, worldly and • cultured, a fetish for fallen • empires the demise of which • he once witnessed, garbed in • garish garbage, offering mysterious trinkets, • boasting of unpunished sacrileges, fragranced • with false promises, lingering incense • from his rejected sacrifice’s failed • offering, smoke woolling over eyes • until cannot be read the • immortal sign this paramour bears, • immaterial how in like a • wind and out like a • breath he always passes, misfortune • his address through which egress • he sends for dunes their • collapse, reverberating desert paths with • eloquent excuses enough to cause • to come to crash every • wall of sand the sound • of his voice demands elude • his capture, beware, beware, this • ancient trickster’s talent for working • over well those under this • miser’s miserable spell, for if • ever you encounter in the • wilderness of your heart-aching hereafter • what you hear to be • soft laughter, run, for you • are nearing sure disaster masquerading • sympathy to seem more attractive, • fears longing to be acted • on as doubt ministers to • hope his mouth dances upon, • this errant son of the • first one who fathered man, • in his exquisite deceptions listens • to your prayers from a • distance, ponders when best to • helicopter in his offer of • assistance, questions not his own • existence which your desperation re-enforces, • but the weakness of your • defences, for diminished self-confidence strengthens • the effectiveness of his, following • as he does the laws • of attraction, drawing to him • women and men both wanting • instant gratification, immediate attention, and • lasting affection, myths this handsome • devil uses to his advantage, • appearing at the crossroads of • excess and devotion, telling those • he endears theirs is the • temple, the body, where nature • demands to be reverenced, tonguing • whispers of ancient loves that • vanish in tears, how often • have I heard him promising • fortunes for those whose luck • has disappeared, knowing his own • was but one coin lightning • struck, unfortunate enough to be • stuck here, to spend eternity • spurning others until returned to • hell by his investment in • the imminence of an impending • apocalypse ending his curse to • wander this earth in search • of sympathy none ever give, • to this effect I present • my testament in silent witness.