Sonnet Macabre - Unto Ashes

I love you for the grief that lurks within

Your languid spirit, and because you wear

Corruption with a vague and childish air

And with your beauty know the depths of sin;

Because shame cuts you and holds you like a gin

And virtue dies in you slain by despair

Since evil has you tangled in its snare

And triumphs on the soul good cannot win

I love you since you know remorse and tears

And in your troubled loveliness appears

The spot of ancient crimes that writhe and hiss

I love you for your hands that calm and bless

The perfume of your sad and slow caress

The avid poison of your subtle kiss