“Rain of Blood”
Sleepless nights in sparrow shadows
they say it is commoner than common
to struggle through communes,
incommunicado, broken harps,
tobacco pouches, wide winsome,
this tooth are a dragon’s, this rain
and on some honeymoon limerick,
a pop song scorched
to the spine of your soul
in your most secret place
in glades by the wildfires
in dim drunk glasses by the lion furs
on fours to heels clicking
oppressive in your affluence
impressive in your condolence
your earnest for your today toys
you saved the one original tooth
with which you were born
an animal of glory, spiteful,
heels dug to skittering collapse
spurs for the dragons of skulls
and all the weak warmed over
a spit of sun on your cups
a dirty lineage to strangle laundry lines,
depth of this ruse, tussle with secrets
sunburned banquets,
sleep through meals,
see-through only’s.
nicholauspatnaude 