My heart’s a spider, venomous
And hidden, casting hammocks
Hung to hold your weight.
Rest here, untensed, succumb.
All open loving lie.
Then die.
(1967)
Has anyone taken the cuckold’s part?
When, with a chisel of truth,
She tapped his heart
And shrugged them loose—
The tangled worms—
Whispering hoots
Beyond derision. When, softly turning
Coiled, recoiling, their incessant
Snickering shivers that brittle heart—
Will anyone take the cuckold’s part?
(1967)