Devotion

The gods are players 

not faithful to one beloved 

I’ve been warning you against them

for a while now 

so the whispers travel

behind hands, around the table of friends

watch out for that one 

with the devastating eyes

he’ll sweep you off your feet. 

That’s why devotion is dangerous 

and it is better to be 

beneath the notice of gods and men 

it is better to be less beautiful 

and more safe. 

The attention of the gods 

is like a window of light 

opening in the sky 

for a while after you’ve been

singled out 

everyone around you will 

notice your brilliance 

even the people 

who pass you on the street 

will stop and look. 

But it’s a transitory splendor 

soon enough you’ll be forgotten

except by those who were caught

in the edges of the beam 

their blindness may linger 

or be permanent 

as if a halo burns 

about you in their minds 

a false kind of glory

it's all a kind of chemistry 

in the brain 

or so they

tell me.