euthanized epiphanies
fluttering vacant thoughts
hope's expectation
breaks on waterfall rocks
creation of oblivion
averted sideways glance
stares of isolation
all is happenstance

under the ruddy and smoke-laden sky
i stare into the sun's almighty eye
and howl into each blood-moon night
fulfilling the depths of my feral birthright
as my heart and my mind declare war
for my beloved dies upon distant shore
but in this, the face of the final grave
i choose to refuse to be a slave
for there is no escape from this vast sea
and i know she will certainly swallow me
as she swallows each sun and every moon
as she swallows each river’s roaring tune
just as she will swallow this raging fire
just as she swallows the billowing spire
for by immersion she baptizes all
and into her womb all will withdraw
for as we are born we all will burn
and as we all burn we all return
set free by the fire of divinity’s motion
consumed by the depth of the eternal ocean

and yet, here i stand


waiting for her
to take my hand

the notes her hand wrote kindled his fire
and he devoured each secret word
with her scripted craft she unlocked an abyss
too deep for his screams to be heard

and his hunger swallowed him whole

a silver thread ties me to you
stitching us both to the same moon
and bound together by love sublime
we are woven into the fabric of time

sometimes people are toxic
but since they don't have fangs
their poison must be ingested
and thus their power does wane
for we have the freedom of choice
when blighted words waft our way
to listen and swallow their venom
or simply to walk away

the bones of a poem
ride on the storm
that bellows through
wood-fired red skies
and they rattle all night
but with dawn's light
i release them
as butterflies