Wives of Nightfall, Fragile & Other Poetry

By Robert Funderburk

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Wives of Nightfall 

We are the 
Wives of nightfall,
Maidens of the dark. 

Our lips smooth as oil, 
Feather-soft voices,
Speaking words of lust 
Robed in garments of  
Love. 

Our prey who return 
Night upon night 
Seem somehow less human, 
Their bodies shrinking,
Their eyes unseeing,
Clouded by storms of  
Sin. 

Some seek us as targets 
For regret, failure, loneliness, 
And their hands become fists, 
Maces that free them briefly 
From their desperate, empty 
Lives.

Our words are recordings 
That mean nothing—
We control volume and tone. 
No one knows us,
All is hidden behind
Sequins and pearls,
The lace and showcase  
Smile. 

Then came a Man who knew me, 
Though I had never seen him, 
And in him was no darkness; 
“Follow me,” softly he said 
And I did. 

And came to know him and the  
Burning darkness that had 
Engulfed me for so long 
Fled from the presence of 
His Shining.