The Burned Maidens I saw that they had fire And it burned like a tainted star They knelt before its yellow light Shoving offerings into the fumes They prayed Give us gold Give us youth Give us life forever The flame kissed their hands Burning her love into their flesh Blistering devotion bubbled Beneath their skin Still they prayed Give us gold Give us youth Give us life forever The flame kissed their faces Expanding the skin Fluid eruption Running down their cheeks Lips curled from their teeth Eyelids fused shut Still they prayed Give us gold Give us youth Give us life forever When the fire burned down Scavengers came and ate the meat Time turned charred bones To dust Yellow daisies grow there now Swaying in the breeze Turning their heads to the sun
All Witches Burn They’ve lit the fire beneath me Heat and flames rush to supper My flesh and fat, boons Feed these rabid, ravenous beasts My body erupts I peel and flake Rubbed off As birch bark is Thin, opaque slivers of crisp Skin Before long the damage will deepen Thicker layers of flesh Split Give way to bubbling fat Expanding under pressure I’ll be a candle Tallow dripping A grim taper in the dark crypt Of humanity My throat is closing I gasp A reflexive will to live, though I would like to cease Cooking inside my ribcage Stalwart, my heart pumps boiling blood Through lungs lifting With hot air I am meat, a meal for hungry eyes Bellies rumbling with appetite Mouths water with the scent of my suffering My end comes with a curse On a final, ashen exhale