Escape

Fire erupted all around her
Bringing peace with it
Its approaching flames licked her
She was aroused

Her husband's touch had never felt like this
As she had lain pliant and yielding
The nights brought no fear now
That had been so long ago

Hexed by the shrew in the day
Fingered by the leering old man
Raped by the monster they'd begotten
The nights had passed away

Deprived of her one friend—childhood
Thrust defenseless into that hell
Her lack of dowry had set
The mark of death at her door

God had appeared a month before
Released her from her sorrow
Valium had endowed her with valour
Ecstasy had left her just- ecstatic?

Popping pills into her mouth
Life continued to spiral out of control
Until one day, that hope crashed
The husband took it away

No more joyful moments of forgetfulness
No more release from reality
Its clutches were strangling her
When she saw her escape

Why hadn't it struck her before
This was the union she'd always craved
The flames were caressing her now
Death came disguised as orgasm—the only one