The Wake

AWAKE

AWAKE. Image by Engin Akyurt.

As we gather here today to honor our dearly departed,
so many heirs stand before me, let us pray in these dark…

Hours left tick-tic-tock so she swallows them
(W)hole in blackening Bermuda triangular
Angular anger, skeletal shapes, coda chaos
Unholy spirits ceded their slots in hell to ride
Atop thorned shoulders of scion, stigmata art
Rhapsody rage as a lonely half-moon sibling
Forgotten sister, bastard daughter, daddy’s lil’
Mistake?
Mummy’s little lunatic
Discard guttural gift, extra-marital conditions
Apply (!) harajuku ghost gal do tell (?) conceal
Asinine affairs, daymares, night pairs as she
Staaaaaaaaaaares around the room scanning
Avoidant eyes of her bloodline, coy lasser laser
Peepers in creeper captivity crepey hands cup
Hers — “How are you coping, dearest?”
Expression never wanes byway b-l-a-n-k bow
ChiLLs
Vacancy stares, nobody home far from HELP
Less fear, more inflaming ire intensity ssssnap
Fingers cautioning all those smirking faces in
Placeholder prizes from pouting prisms rise(n)
Surprise, fuckers! They thought they’d seen the
Last
Of
This
Tigress in regressed mute morrow memories
Fawning over stolen flesh, photophobic muse
Strike(s) a pose in fertile family values so sow
Groundwork of her homicidal horror hapax…
How was it all so easy, breezy, beautiful (!!!)
Covergirl of search warrants and subpoenas
DRINK— _—_— _— _— _— _— _— _— _— _—_ UP
Little miss Lycan spiked generosity teas with
Wolfsbane. Now. Watch. As. They. Turn. Blue
A smile escapes her lugubrious lips, the valor,
Let there be loathing.

© Edward Swafford 2025

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