I Knew

The man I knew was a stuffed-shirt fool.
He promised us order and spoke quick and low.
The man I knew liked to bend at the rules.
But then the wind changed and he had to go.

(I owe you an update on what I've been doing,
but it's been so long,
so very long,
and all I can dredge up from my frenetic, twitching mind
are more words.
So many wonderful words,
and even this brief interlude taxes me.
But for the archivists, the archaeologists,
the far-flung futures who unearth this
among the detritus of a forgotten civilization's
digital footprint
I am alive.
I am happy.
I owe you.)

I thought you weren't feeling well.
I wanted to bring you the light of the stars.
You flow from the mouth with a tongue black as Hell.
I fight on my feet but you're winning - thus far.

The man I knew was made out of straw.
You hid 'neath his cloak and you made his mouth twitch.
The man I knew? What a lech, what a whore.
But the honey-slick words made my skin and loins itch.

Break me upon the bulwark of your eyes.
Give me a reason to fall away from your self.
Allow me to be suckered in by your lies.
They may keep you safe, but they're bad for your health.

The man that I knew? Well, he never was.
His value inestimable; money can't buy.
The man that I knew, he would fight without cause.
But the man he's become will roll over and die.

I will forge you in the fire of my conviction.
I am yours but I'll beat you until you are healing.
Though you should fear me as any addiction.
I am the pathway to satisfied feeling.