Love s Poisoned Chalice

Don't drink.
Put it down.
Do you see how the light plays on the rim?
It isn't gold. It is merely rust beneath the varnish.
Beautiful, isn't it?



The dinner party is over, the guests have vanished into the fog.
Stains on the tablecloth — a spilled ocean.
You hand me the goblet, looking straight into my eyes.
There is no truth in it, darling. Nor even the vine.
I can smell it... No, not almond.
It smells like a piano burning in February.
Cold ash and a sickly, sticky dread.
I hold my demise in trembling, commanding hands.


One sip — and I’ll forget my name.
Second sip — I become a doll.
Third...
(Pause. Sudden silence. Deep inhale)
There won't be a third. I will drink it all!


The poisoned chalice of love!
Don't pour the antidote, don't call for help!
I know the taste — wormwood and steel.
Do I pity myself? No... I don't!
Let it burn in the throat, let it tear veins apart!
It is better than howling from an empty heart!
Drink! Before the blood turns cold!
Is it poison? No, sir. It is love.

You are waiting for me to fall? To writhe in convulsions on the floor?
Funny.
I have drunk worse things in my time.
A friend's betrayal — like sour milk.
Treason — like warm vodka... Easy.
But this drink — a masterpiece, a thick syrup.
Sweet as nails driven into a coffin.


It burns!
Like swallowing molten wax!
Impact!
Straight to the heart, bypassing the brain!
Are you watching? Look! I am standing! I am alive!
I absorbed this venom, I am one open wound!
Pour more! Fill it up! Don't let your hand shake!
I want to be poisoned by you! Only by you!


Припев
The poisoned chalice of love!
Don't pour the antidote, don't call for help!
I know the taste — wormwood and steel.
Do I pity myself? Damn it! I don't!
Let it burn in the throat, let it tear veins apart!
It is better than rotting in silent dark!
Drink! Before the blood turns cold!


Delicious.

More.