The Body to the Soul

I saw him once or twice before

Through a hazy pane of words

Sprawled atop scraps of pages for

 

My eyes to delve into their absurd

Curves, tangles, and inky sighs.

And once or twice before, I heard

 

His voice in my mouth as a cry

That lay smoldering beneath my own,

An ember that flared up against my

 

Prurient temple and my visceral throne "

Where the ashes of virtue could be dusted away "

That once or twice the mirror had shown

 

To him in our stead where I lay

While I beckoned him to come and pray.

Author's Note

A sonnet written in terza rima, which is a type of chained rhyme organized into tersets. It was invented by Dante and used all throughout his Divine Comedy, so I included some appropriate allusions.

This was written to complement a poem that my friend wrote called "A Soul with a Body", the inverse of my own title.