From WHATEVER YOU LOVE OF WEAPONS YOU LOVE FOR WEAPONS by Mathias Svalina...





Some people are made of burnt bones & soot.
Their shadows stain the walls when they pass.

The sources disagree whether Matthew was run through
with a sword, beheaded or stoned to death.

When the finger points at you
there will never be a single end for you.

Your body contorts in sweat-slick panics
as the hagiographers lick their feathers.

The sources disagree on the nature of perfect
form & ideal beauty. The rotten fruit of gaping lips.



There is no dignified way to die
but the bowl of milk you left

on the unpainted table
has been painted over as grapes.

A canvas weighs so much
& you have to move it every day.

When the morning news arrives
you'll be scraping the wax

from the canvas & melting it
over a rabbit-bone fire.





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