(i)
...this morning I woke mouth-to-mouth with
my behemoth
pushing its kiss down hard into my lungs
its theft disguised as affection
but the more I struggled the deeper its kiss moved
I was being embraced by the steppenwolf
dissolved into an ugly narrative
a misty, shapeless predator
an outworn inspiration
chipped at the edges
my tongue so entwined with the beast’s
I even began swallowing fragments of myself
this casual appetite of tyranny
like a mind devouring a mind
the devious, monumental deception
that trusts in suicidal faith
in thoughtless men-of-smiles
the sweet taste of carrion
a rush of saliva through the heart
mountains snapping at my throat
the shapeless, vast predator
untamed, hungry shadow
vanishing into the mist...
(ii)
...O give me leave to curse
the naked violence of men
every one of whom takes into his mouth
his god’s spiteful erection
men principled yet sordid
devoted yet consumed
their climax to every engorged deceit
a passion to merely spit sex
the truth crushing the truth
an eloquent, viral falsehood
this supreme, five-star rating
of death’s raw cuisine
for who else but these deadly clowns
can blow away a child’s face
and call it freedom
the outliers, we who deliver genocide
world of clutter
world of endless revenge
I see you sitting at my table
everyone but you afraid to eat...
(iii)
...what is it of this incestuous turmoil that we crave
to kiss ourselves on others’ lips
to have humanity claw its heart
the war-like temper a ruse
to intone even more blithe halleluiahs
a primate texting the universe
engulfed by entertainment
by neuro-plasticity at its best
the breathless magnificence of the world
a scattering of body parts
the images outside language
the mother whose scalp bleeds
as she wails and pulls out fistfuls of hair
another of god’s playful gratuities
the indiscriminate joy, song of songs
mitzvah for those yet to be
the seraphim who may turn back
once they have sensed the danger...
Click on the button below if you would like to hear me reading the above three poems.
The music is Julia Kent's 'Missing'.