Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Dead Valentine

You brought me an old paperweight
With a glass rose enclosed
Coiled round by a sleeping serpent
 
You said start from here
And carefully remove the rose
Without smashing the glass
 
Or waking the snake
Draw it out by degrees
Only using your eyes
 
Letting the roots of the rose
Slowly devour the tightening
Body and blood of the snake
 
As it rises up through the glass
Weightless and red
A gift to the dead

No comments: