With fever alone

When I saw you
when I first saw you
with my eyes alone
you were clothed neatly
and brightly colored
with patterns tiled
to fool the eye with motion
to fool my eyes with motion alone
and so I knew
you must be poisonous
with hidden fang
with retracted claw
with softened word
with venom alone

When I saw you
when I first saw you
I first saw you a time ago
and only now I feel the burning
it is real
but it is slow

When I feel you
I feel you rise
as infection
as fever in the passages
in the nerves
in the eyes

I feel an ending
in the fever rise
I feel the small last seizure near
but there is hope
there still is hope
all fevers burn
but some burn clear