Mandarin Ducks -- Rather Than What's Wanted

"Mandarin Ducks"
 
There'll be time to apologize
After you realize
There's no need for sorry.
A chapter in the story
Bittersweet to give it meat
Enough to chew,
Savor the flavor of blue
Because dessert comes after.
Is that hers, or my laughter?
Always en route to disaster.
From the first glimpse
Heart skips, trips, and limps
To the corner store for a porno cure --
Pump out the lust
Only to lube the rust,
And get the gears chugging,
Especially when she's hugging.
That's enough to inspire a desire
To hold her all night
Despite the closing bell,
And smells of hell
Promising to blight
What feels too right,
An echo that came back
Better than the original.
Ignore the infernal sigil
We're dancing on,
A kiss can't be withdrawn.
 
Oh, it seems
Pygmalion built her
A companion
Useful as a cigarette
Smoked to the filter,
So for now
Butterfly lovers part
Just as the show is about to start,
But though star-crossed fucks
We're a pair of mandarin ducks.

"Rather Than What's Wanted"
 
Ignoring the gaslight
Ignite a tiny lighter,
And by the glow examine
Where the gas lamps end.
Should the sights start to blight
The field growing strong
Shed tears for one night
Raining on paper
Printing drop by drop
The tragedy of what used to be
Easy to justify in the dark.
The grime and slime
Churned to twisted humor;
The sewer rot
Spritzed by a perfumer,
And one spray for the eye
To blind proper.
However many pages
Collect the lot
To look back on
When a wound needs salt
To remind what's wrong.
 
Then walk the streets
Glaring at shadows
Seeing what's hid
Rather than what's wanted.