I walked into the jaws of the beast
draping armfuls of meager offerings for those
made clothesless in the morning’s fire;
The beast turned curiously to weigh its chances;
though ravenous and worn, it only half-heartedly
endeavored to entice me further, tempting,
smiling a cracked trompe l’oeil of communion,
idly coveting, imagining the uses for which
I might be employed, if I would but submit
willingly to its embrace, its rule,
its stranglehold, now dwindling in light;
Resigned desire curled around its nostrils
as I bid its exhausted host good night
and slipped out between its gilded teeth
into cold night, warm with life.