tempering swords 
firepierce
six different ways
obliteration 
annihilation
immolation
twisting me into shape
a funeral pyre rebirth
on a fools' boat 
heading beyond
the ninth of waves
as sacrificial flesh
for the carrion 
perched in wait

only hermit madness remains

madness and death
gnawing at the fringe
and we must all be that 
lamb
lead
to
slaughter
for the agony of birth
must be 
quenched 
in 
blood

you do not want 
this carrion childe
this frenzy
this poison gift
shroudwrapped in shadows
and pain

© Michael Raven