The Indignity of the Indigenous

[cirrhosis]

I grasp my gut’s contusions
To contain the shattered glass
That gushes with every gasp.
Whether I am tethered down
Or stapled to the shadows,
The bayou moon fills my flask
With diamond screams and the
Comatose remains of Rome.
Where pride roams, calamity
Sharpens its teeth on the heels
Of the monsoon. Each bomb blast
Illuminates liberty,
Her shadow cast across the
Sea to brush the opposing
Coastlines into the dustbin.
The sun has devoured all
That his thousands of lights can
Touch. With good blood running thin,
I’m forced to bite my own lip
And swallow the last remains
Of my solemnity. Grace
Falters and swoons, her final
Steps diseased with travesty
But adorned in antique lace.
Calls of a crude creed carry
Anachronistic cries to
The crass commanders. Beneath
The ice lies the abyss, where
The beast’s feet flail for footing,
But we only see the teeth.