the crows are full today.

no shrieks, no cries, no thirst for blood;
they have an eye for the slaughter
but fat and salt have sealed it shut.

alone at last, i file my teeth
sharpen my fingers to claws
break my body into halves and quarters

so when the bad sun rises again,
malevolent and black-feathered,
hungry for souls, it has none of its own-
i will be be hungrier
i will be angrier
i will be thirstier
i will not fall back into the churning riptide
back into the maw of the dark.

i will walk like one who has seen death
and kissed it upon the mouth
i will smile with blood in the cracks of my teeth
and armageddon roaring in my throat

i will fight, tooth and nail and sinew
i will rise, glorious and unbowed
i will, i will

i must