first they came
and took my
tail and then
they took the horns.
they clipped
my wings and came
for the fangs.
they returned once
again and pierced
my eyes and
removed my forked
tongue, peeled
the fur and scales.
i allowed them
to do it,
complicit in the
dismemberment.
because every time
they paid their visits
the horizons behind
and above their
mountainous shoulders
- scarlet, bright,
and on fire.
- the skies above
deadest of blacks
and raining pitch.