Читать книгу Catastrophic - Humphrey Hartney - Страница 4

Gormless youth

lurking.

Evil, bloodied, pockmarked moon.

Tree nesting

– some weird bird

Chin resting

absurdly

On branches so flammable

That at their core

they wait

To burn like hell –

But more than that

You're somehow both

Under my skin and

in front of me as

I walk the dogs down Birdwood Avenue…

This moment is sharp

your bloated face

smirking on

knowing far too much

gloating even.

I move the dogs on

rubbing my arm

feeling the skin

you now lurk beneath.

You've seen too much what we do with fire -

Invite it into our homes

The whole long winter,

Introduce it to the food

We are about to consume as if

It is a living grace.

And now you've made this

ill-conceived

desperate, disgraceful plan

To force on us

All the fire you can.

And now I am feeling you

Bulging out my chest

It's becoming hard to breathe

As I stare you down and breath

Escapes me…

But I can't impress upon you nor

Get it past your strange, round face

That the gift you give of all fire

will destroy us.

Twisted deity.

Fire has been there all these centuries

For us to honour you but

It was never there for you

To use it back at us like this…

To summon up, after being so long unworshipped

Your own sacrifice.

I move the dogs on

The dawn tries to rise

They find

their next pissing spot.

Your uncanny brightness

Feeds already

On all the corpses

That will be made this day.

You move back as if now

You're giving us

All the space we need

For our great tragedy

Waiting in the wings.

You're ready to quit the stage knowing

Your will is set

– and that over us

A sun will beam down

through smoke, for months

– not like a sun

– but more like you

– all moon.

So, by your gift to us you'll become

The ruling monarch of our fate

- and this great false star

will be made doubly great

By both the flames of the sun

and our burning flesh –

your second reflection.

In homage to their new god

pensively and with

a vacant stare

They salute you –

and with their back legs.