The Misery-Maker

Hello old friend!

I haven’t seen enough of you lately.

Haven’t you missed me?

I was starting to think

You might hate me.

Don’t you remember

All the good times we’ve shared?

I always thought we made a pretty good pair.

(Despite how little I’ve truly cared.)

 

Am I not the one you wanted?

The one you thought

Worthy of your time?

Don’t you trust my smile

And the flickering lights of my eyes?

I am ready any time you call,

I will always offer my hand to hold

(While subtly tripping you

And secretly laughing at your fall.)

 

I despise when you neglect me

Like an undeserving suitor

Or dreaded chore,

Arousing my jealousy

In spending your time pursuing others

As if I were a reprehensible bore

You can’t bear to mention.

Don’t you know

How I only want to be near you,

And ever closer than before?

(Said nervously as I hope

You never come to see

My nagging you zealously

And endlessly

Is but a token of my cruel intentions.)

 

I have courted you for so long,

Wooing you incessantly

With all of my whims and wiles,

Flash and style,

Looking in your eyes,

Speaking words of assurance

That you will always belong to me,

And I would never leave you

(Falsely claiming all the while

You would never have reason to grieve me.)

 

How many times you called me,

Seeking my attention,

Welcoming me with open arms,

Admiring my adroitness and charm!

When you sang my praise

With your inviting voice

You were anything but coy.

How often I have lulled

You to sleep with promises

Of pleasures to come without end,

Consuming your thoughts,

Calming your breath,

Soothing you by distracting you

From your duties and fears.

(Conveniently failing to mention

Any consequences or resultant tears,

And the price tag for my employ,

Which no one wants to pay-

The wages that end in death.)

 

How you’ve yielded your trust

And enjoyed the fruits of my lust!

You have seen first-hand

No other ecstasy can compare

To what I offer.

You’ve reveled in my joy

As we danced blissfully

Until the point of exhaustion

(You neglecting our bargain

Ever so Faustian.

Even in agony

Feeling defiled

And a victim beguiled

By your choice.

Ah, but in truth,

You are only one more

Conquest for my coffers!)

 

There is only one Spirit

I am afraid of

And it is not yours.

Your spirit may be willing

To forsake me

But your flesh is weak,

Disarming your faith

To the point of pathetic prayers

You can barely speak

And even less resistance.

(Oh, I adore how your decisions

Betray and distance you

From all that is holy and true

And destroy

Your heart once full of love!)

 

Here, take another drink

Of my wine,

Eat of my dainties

To the full.

Surely it is no crime

To be satisfied for a moment.

(Though a moment is all you will get

And then comes your soul empty

And your heart full of regret.)

 

Let there be no lack or lull

In our camaraderie and communication.

Let there be no separation

But let us travel together

To your next destination.

I promise merriment without cessation

And memories you can pretend

Were worth the price.

In return all I ask

Is you never forget me

Or deny me shamefully

And all I have done for you.

 

(For my constant and greatest fear

Is the grace

That awakens you to finally realize

I am anything but a friend,

Closer to a fiend

And an unvirtuous villain.

I am the worst master,

The dreadest enemy

And most torturous lover.

With a monstrous face

Behind my mask

And serenading,

I am the one abetting and aiding

Your eternal demise.

For I am the liberty-taker,

And the ultimate faker

I am the Misery-Maker.)