It Got Inside - May 15, 2023

it twists in my stomach

like a python fangs licked

and folded back a mouth

unhinged and widening

for the swallow

the prey my kindnesses

the day’s joy slowly ingested

by a rolling undulation of evil

it’s another mass shooting

at an Allen, Texas mall

and somehow it got inside

this creature that

devours complacency

when it gets too fat

the serpent that sinks its

venom into moments

flush with contentment

a pit viper with a recent taste

for innocence

the plumpest lumps of light