Love Vows of a Coward
I would tattoo
Yellow on my paunch,
Tend lilies
Dressed in livery,
Live in a henhouse
Among feathers and eggs,
Or in a cathouse
With scarediest company.
As a dog, I would
Put my tail between my legs,
Hide and whimper when the thunder
Sounded.
I would donate my spine
To science,
Shrink
From my shrinking shadow,
Run swiftly
From peril,
Throw my honor
And yours to the street.
Deer heart, I am
A milksop, a quail, a leaf.
I shake and tremble
For you, for you, for you.