violent threats lurked
vague yet immanent
the thickened air
stalked the horizon
to the north
dressed in an other’s
belief like rags
trailing to the floor
voiceless tongue
excised and eaten
a baby bird’s open
mouth longing
for mother’s kiss
echoes the millennial
desire for life
and then greed
led by gluttony
clogs the heart’s
arteries and we
swallow ourselves
(May 22, 2015)
subtext 