by Teresa Burleson

Many times
This heart has played
The harlot.
All too soon,
My choices became
My shackles.
But he was waiting
At the auction block.
Instead of the lashes
I deserved,
I felt his own cloak
Enfolding me,
Covering all shame.
I cannot explain 
Such a love,
How can you measure
The cost of such a love?
I only know
The past is gone.
The bride is reclaimed.

A free-lancer for over 40 years, Teresa Burleson has credits in over 45 magazines. In 2002, she received the National League of American Pen Women Virginia Liebeler Biennial Grant for Mature Women in the letters category. She is the author of The Pilgrim’s Lyre, published in 2003 and Rose Without Thorns, published in 2013.