two slits form on my back
translucent, thin flesh sprouts
veins look like lightning strikes, peppering my wings

struck leaving only scarred, burning flesh
the taste of lamb changed when i saw one get butchered
a knife powered by the words of God

cumulus clouds, blood rain
it’s a miracle they say, the fruit is euphoric this time of year
a promise of honeysuckle

i read scripture with my mother on the mount
a burning bush, the leaves know they will be dead soon
the bugs charred, their screams are mixed with the sounds of hymns

intricate words pass through my eyes
i can only admire my mother
her eyes on the paper, unwavering

read! read! she yells, before God punishes you
i am already the lamb, my heart whispers
i feel the sadness in her lips, the disappointment rooting in her spine

perhaps it is why she feels pain there
the feathers i shed obscure the words i long to absorb
i lie to her that i am gifted, that my blood is in prophecy

did God allow ismael to feel the fire on his skin before saving him
singed slightly, did He tempt him with the ultimate sacrifice
my blood does not douse fires, it simply cakes and scabs

there are lambs birthed from my fallen feathers
my mother cradles one, crimson stains her light-like clothes
the blood of a sacrifice tastes like mothers milk

there's a moth caught in the house
the sun, amplified through glass sheets
warm stars hidden in vast, cold space
skeletal frame lurches, cool and uninviting
the dark looms around every corner
ghosts, imagined and real, haunt every step
artificial light does not push away threats
it is a faux star in a dying place
my bones merge with wooden beams
bugs of the earth eat at my liver
butterfly wings, ethereal but venomous
leeches do not consume tainted blood
my pain unmakes me
the termites ******* sins
the eyes of a moth's wing are not blinded by light
my pupils dilate, resurrection
reborn as filament reflected
only moths could love unholy lights

metallic love, sink your fangs into me
you are a mechanism of flesh and blood
tasting the marrow of my divine machinery

hymns churn low, vibrating sounds like an unspoken plea
our covenant is written in a crimson flood
metallic love, sink your fangs into me

consume me, where my bones and flesh meet circuitry
leave red oil slick on your lips, prove that i am loved
tasting the marrow of my divine machinery

drink this ruin, drown in my wiring where i am bound by holy symmetry
all torn beneath you, ripping through my plates and boards, believing that i am beloved
metallic love, sink your fangs into me

the ghost in my blood unspools, the one you’ve seen in visions, set free,
when you succumbed
tasting the marrow of my divine machinery

make me an altar, find apostles in the screen of my corpse, unmake me holy,
i am consumed, and i am free, and through my voice, your curse is numbed
metallic love, sink your fangs into me
tasting the marrow of my divine machinery