A droplet of blood
Wet and ruddy red
round and pregnant
It clings precariously
to the iron shank
that pierces my wrist
I watch transfixed
as it grows in size
shimmering, trembling
a matter of time
before it drops
A lash rips across
my naked breasts
"Move ye bitch!'
shouts the Roman below
the crowd exalts
I straighten up
struggling, swaying
exerting my all
to stand and gulp
the air of life
Exhausted I fall back
hard against the stipe
shaking the cross
freeing my tenaciously clinging
droplet of blood.
I track its path
as it meanders
ever so slowly
haltingly, distractedly
along my outstretched arm
Disappearing into
the unseen hollow
beneath my shoulder
only to re-emerge
perched at the swell of my breast
My precious droplet
a poignant metaphor
of my waning life
pauses momentarily before
its inexorable descent
Another lash
breaks across my chest
I start in response
swinging out
arching my back
My droplet plunges
speeding deftly
'tween wobbling breasts
streaking a trail
down my sternum
My head lolls forward
casting my eyes
in search of my
precious droplet's
downward progress
Across my flattened
hardened tummy
skirting navel
sloping down
to hirsute mound
Disappearing
lost between
my quaking thighs
my life descends
as darkness folds
Barbaria 2017
Wet and ruddy red
round and pregnant
It clings precariously
to the iron shank
that pierces my wrist
I watch transfixed
as it grows in size
shimmering, trembling
a matter of time
before it drops
A lash rips across
my naked breasts
"Move ye bitch!'
shouts the Roman below
the crowd exalts
I straighten up
struggling, swaying
exerting my all
to stand and gulp
the air of life
Exhausted I fall back
hard against the stipe
shaking the cross
freeing my tenaciously clinging
droplet of blood.
I track its path
as it meanders
ever so slowly
haltingly, distractedly
along my outstretched arm
Disappearing into
the unseen hollow
beneath my shoulder
only to re-emerge
perched at the swell of my breast
My precious droplet
a poignant metaphor
of my waning life
pauses momentarily before
its inexorable descent
Another lash
breaks across my chest
I start in response
swinging out
arching my back
My droplet plunges
speeding deftly
'tween wobbling breasts
streaking a trail
down my sternum
My head lolls forward
casting my eyes
in search of my
precious droplet's
downward progress
Across my flattened
hardened tummy
skirting navel
sloping down
to hirsute mound
Disappearing
lost between
my quaking thighs
my life descends
as darkness folds
Barbaria 2017