An unamused reply

An unamused reply

How quaint they are
These careless entreaties
Of yours.

As if I were a merchant
Selling verse by the kilo,
Or the pound.

Your partner only dances
As well as you do, and only
As badly.

Do not think me cold
Of course, we have danced
Together -

Through sonnets, sestinas, villanelles
Epic trilogies, thunderous dramas and scripts
Through love, hatred, war, farce and tragedy,
Even death.

Your offer me your starvation,
Broken relationships and alcoholism
As gifts.

I do not need them, I bring
Them myself. They drip onto your hand
From my wings.

Lure me instead with your
Careless inward eye. Do not underweigh
Your indolence.

I come only as holy witness to
Your sacrificing yourself on the altar
Of yourself.

I do not come to entertain.