one becomes inured
to the blood spatters
across the floor
best to see plain
without care’s risk
to clot one’s vision
strip away emotion
as if peeling tissue
from broken bone
to see with clarity
the oblivious truth
which hangs like flesh
from carnal house walls
its ubiquitous taint
thickening the air
until every breath
tangs with blood’s
metallic fears
(from a work in progress, “Arcana,” Queenswords, March 16, 2014)
subtext 