Bleeding Out the Devil


You saw Satin glinting behind your irises,
The sheen of flat gray only ever comforted me.
Guilty as John the Baptist,
Huddled naked behind matted, black hair,
You pushed dirt under your fingernails
And scratched away the clay.
Did you know where the family roots
Detangled from dark Kentucky pines
And slipped through thick, red clay?
You watched moonlight
Wink off the blade.
You could sever the knots at your brother's throat.
Did you try to peel away memories with long strips of flesh,
Sliding steel through your veins,
Arching to carve mouths for the buzzing in your ears.
Did your fingers tremble, pale,
Pushing fat, crimson snakes down your palms,
When they stained a ring around the drain?
What beast was it hunched dark on your neck,
Clawing at your eyes?
Until your breath squeaked
Through a swollen throat,
And desperate for a voice,
You opened up smiles under your fists.

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