Love, Knives and Serpents

Do you think love is pleasant?
My friend, I tell you true, love is
a knife in the belly -
a warm, deep painful sensation
that one would be best to avoid -
yet, once inside of you, your life shall somehow
end if removed too quickly
Yes...a knife

It is a serpent with fangs so deep
that a bite can not only pierce the flesh
but penetrate the bone
and venom goes straight to the heart
Perhaps she will kill you -
Perhaps you will live -
But the bite shall remain in your memory
This, too...a serpent

But what is life without
the knife
and what pleasure in walking barefoot
with no snake waiting in the grass?
I ask you, friend, what good is flesh -
if there is never the risk
to break it?
I ask you this...