the betrayal of memory
is a poisoned chamber;
a melancholic rack
of shrieking virgins,
roaming forever
in lewd fields
perfumed tresses
with hollowed caresses
oblivion's horror
and cadaverous ceilings;
crumbling relics
of ardor's stale pleasures.

cruelty blooms
among wilted cathedrals,
as depravity suckles
on blighted fruit:
the serpent craves only
the breath of the pure,
and in his vermilion
the cancer takes root.




Dec.29 2009

Patti Masterman

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-betrayal-of-memory/