See me now
all declawed
sharp teeth filed smooth
as ivory keys
A lion among kittens
now become
You’d like me best
this way
with marrow sucked
from every bone
and all the blood
and gristle drained
You might have waited
after all
for sickness
to slay the prey
Or might have known
that passion lives
but briefly and for torment’s sake
yet must have tired
and finally set
fierce one last time
where sky meets plain—
Or was there one last chance
to quench
the madness that had captured me
A final leap
from hopeless den
to force and part
your bitter lips
and bare the claw
that wounded hope
one final time to ravish fear
And drag you
warm and moist and limp
beyond all jealous sympathy
back to passion's final clutch
and breathless cry
of victory