i was 27 years old

when i sold my soul

fragile

skeletal

returning to

blackened utero


(i reached out

for eden's

rotten apples)


don't follow

this prophet

as i strum

down

deceitful rivers

decadent,

dead-locked

and dead-set

to blaze out,

not fade away --


Youth Eternal:


white like bleach

and ancient bones