Bloody Red Rose

You moved gingerly from
Across the room
Where your image haunted me
For the hours past.
Awestruck and breathless
I stood paralyzed in wait
For you to grace me
With your tantalizing presence.

And as you move the air parts itself,
Daring not to resist your motion,
So immaculate, so timeless.
And your hair flows delicate,
Following close behind a picture-perfect
Face smiling with sinister seduction.
I can't help but feel discomfort.

You clenched in your hand
The softest of roses
And said to me
"Relax, there is no need to fear.
I've set my eyes on you
And you're the sight they hold dear."

And with your witchy words
I took from you the rose which
You so enticingly extended to me.
And in that moment of brief contact,
Where your palm brushed so slightly
The tortured tips of my searching fingers,
As the rose fell into my hand,
I felt not a wave, but rather
A crawling, caring blanket of peace
Fall upon my heart.

Yet as soon as our hands did part,
That peace fled from my desirous soul.
That rose pricked my finger so,
And a tiny drop of thick, red blood
Fell slowly, silently, softly
To the floor.