You asked love weightier
than blithe indifference; I have

attained—no more pursuit
of giddily withheld affection.
The keening flame is tempered,
tamed. That bath is cold which
might have boiled. For you
I have abandoned friends
and concubines, for you
embraced this fate of clot
and calcify (not to say impotence).
I whisper in obdurate ears,
kiss hard as marble lips,
and so commence the sacrifice
you will not sense.

I am still.

David Oestreich lives in Northwest Ohio with his wife and three children. His work has recently appeared in such venues as Foundling Review, Ruminate, and Eclectica.