musée

   poison     comes from an old french word meaning magic potion
   venom     comes from an old french word meaning 
    poison

such is the fantastically etymillogical treasure map tucked under my arm;
where moments ago i was a poet, seeking precision,
now i am headlamped, machete thrashing, tracing some legend's circular roots.
Diana Jones and the Synonymous Sisters.

i find them 
peering silent through the mist of history
         the misery
         and mystery. 
aphrodite stands with her hand on the shoulder of her twin,
venus,
this goddess of love,
name soured, spat,
gone from injecting veins with the addled haze of lust
to now
the adder; a dark curse, a death knell. 
in a way i'd always known i'd find some 'her' here;
XX marks the spot.
feminine wiles 
         to guile 
         to guilt.


in The Dictionary of Fine Distinctions
a page clarifies
      poison     is when you bite it
      venom     is when it bites you

and oh how i cycle 
through all the things men never needed be afraid of 
they simply needed to let be.