Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Lark and Eagle: Call of the Queen

Pomegranate juice and eggs;
Each seed within the fruit,
Blooms into a new truth.

Bright as blood
Marked both the entry and the exit wound
Atop shards of glass, purified 
By the heat of the sun
I laid my body to dry.

Emptied now
In shame, I rest;
I can no longer cry.
Precious liquid, stolen from me,
Not sold on grocery store shelves
Further evidence of your generosity.

I'd kill to taste again.
Though the snake at my doorstep
Said you were dead to begin with
I study each day
To become a resurrectionist 
And love you once again, my Lazarus.

I hold your kingdom
The bird in my chest
I bid you to awaken
And return to its nest.


Saturday, March 9, 2024

Apotrópaios

After pouring it back into the eastern Earth
Drenched in moonwater and amethyst 
I lit the last cigarette
And told a passing plane
“We’re finished”
To confirm I had a witness.

If there’s a burning tower somewhere, 
You’ll be sure to find Justice
By following the trail of ashes. 
At the end, she’ll be there 
With her sisters 
Smoke, Amaretto, and Charm
Dancing all in a circle, 
Locked in arms.


Borrowed with interest

The first cardinal of spring 
Perched himself on my tree,
A dragonfly kissed me on the cheek,
And a sunburn, finally
The shedding begins—
Empty the cabinets 
Water the garden.

I cannot say I’m sorry,
Nor will I ever beg your pardon;
But I’d throw a coconut in the ocean 
To see how it might grow.


Friday, March 8, 2024

Harvest

A golden maiden gathers the grains;
A silver reaper turns the fields into decay. 

Yesterday I prayed for rain;
Today a tornado came.


Monday, December 25, 2023

Il Divino

Last night I watched his naked body
As it twitched restlessly in bed beside me
A silhouette directed 
by its phantom captain,
Stretched like canvas across the sheets
Painted in the static blue 
Light of a false moon;
I whispered aloud soothe him:

        When winter comes
                 The sky plays rhythm 
        The days are gray and
                 Night seems unending.
        Dream of the Sun instead
                 Returning on his chariot 
        Then remember to forget.

In his artificial peace,
From the endless toiling 
A well-earned reprieve
For a man who never stops to see 
He already has all he hoped to achieve; 
Stroking the cool, pale skin
Of my Michaelangelo's bare bicep
I let him sleep.
Though I know what he labors for
Is hard to get

        Love like this
                 Is harder yet.


Conquerers

What is a man's seed
But the substantive result of a need
To see himself individually
Reflected in the flesh,
Separately.
Believing only in what we see
We worship him for his virility
And this supposed act of sovereignty.

Although we may think she can only receive
The power of Earth's viridity
Lies in her ability 
To summon all seeds, 
Invisibly.
It is out of disbelief we call it an act of cruelty
When she then rejects as easily
What she does not need
Leaving to bleed 
That which was planted carelessly
Without her blessings.


Severance

By decree
With this sacred steel
I sever all threads
And release us immediately
From the burden we share;
Your load no longer mine to hold
Mine no longer yours to bear;
Once more we carry our own.

May your body 
Rest in peace
Now it is completely free.

Trust I've borne the weight faithfully
Cared for, polished, and coated with gold leaf
The bronze bones of your Abarkuh tree
Pruned its limbs to forever
Reach upwardly.

May our bodies
Rest in peace
Now they are completely free.