Briar

I wandered into your briar,
Enchanted by each rose;
Ignoring the overgrown brambles
As their thorns tugged at my clothes.
I dared to choose a flower
With a scent that made my heart dance.
I stayed to admire each petal
And fell under its trance.
It spoke of grand adventures
and I lost myself in the tales
‘til I forgot my life before
I’d wandered down these trails.
Its tendrils grew over me,
Its thorns against my skin
Ensuring that I could not move
Without them digging in.
Releasing all their poison
That seemed, at first, innocuous
Until my skin began to burn
Under your petals’ soft, sweet kiss
I shrank under your voice;
Those words that used to make me fly
Dripped through your lips like venom
Until my blood began to dry
Within the veins you used to trace
Under the skin that loved your touch
My heart slowed to a tamer pace
As all these thorns become too much.
I lay there as the thicket enclosed
Blocking my sight; my very breath
And muse over the beauty
Of my sweet-scented, impending death.