Snakewoman

from the book "Erzulie"

woke up this morning with
malt liquor questions
and a burning gut.
my bed is empty and cooling
the sheets stink;
all i remember are creamy thighs
and bloodshot eyes moving away.
snatches of an old blues song
float from the bathroom to the kitchen;
i slip back into darkness
where she's the snakewoman
humming,
feeding me the flesh of my enemies.
the moon fractures against her skin,
her sharp tongue is red and sweet,
scratches the roof of my mouth.

woke back up,
to her, humming,
sitting beside me.
dipping her finger into a bowl
then into my mouth
red and sticky.
singing,
singing away my hangover,
singing.

Reviews

[Michael W. Farrelly]

Absolutley love this piece. 'her sharp tongue is red and sweet,
scratches the roof of my mouth.' Perfect read for a hungover Sunday morning. The ryhtmic change in the second verse reads almost like a sutra, before just letting us go. Excellent.