It’s Like a Fever
It’s like a fever, undetectable,
So calm its toxins slither round and hide.
Its weaponry is not deflectable
If once deployed past walls and gates inside
The city that is you. Your love, though large
And true, cannot defend your marrow, vein,
Or blood against these spies that sneak and barge
Around your being, seeking out the pain
You never wanted, don’t deserve, but now
Must harbor in your sperm and in your bed
For every lover. Prayer cannot endow
You with offensive shields. It cannot shred
A micro-organism’s clawing gnaw.
You stalk with hope between despair and awe.