The Demons I Have Welcomed

I stand alone, a mother,
with a heart torn since my youth.
My child, my flesh, was swept away by demons
That I have welcomed.

I have passed through nights
Filled with lust and its satisfaction.
I have sought comfort in arms
Not mine to keep.

My child is now in another's care
While I dance with shadows.
My choices, like thorns,
Fill me for the moment
But leave emptiness after piercing.

True love must be like stars
That prick the sky,
Distant and untamed,
While I rush to a fleeting night's flame
Wishing for one man to whisper my name.

In a bed shared by others,
Tonight’s man enters me
And I surrender to the knowledge
That I’ll never be the parent,
The protector, or the lover.