Xeno Hemlock

when you are love-starved
you open the door
for the first to knock
or invite the uninvited

all your life
ignorant to the tingling
your heart is barren
worse than Atacama 

so when you are love-starved
that heart of yours
knows not
sympathy and empathy
camaraderie and understanding

so when the awaited comes
you’re a host unprepared
take-out dinners
lukewarm wine
plethora of flat jokes

you’ve become the feast
appetizer, main course, dessert
the curse of being love-starved
has eaten you alive