George Witte

Nyx

You come unbidden,

slick, malign,

 

wings furled to ease

descent through centuries.

 

Skin plump, renewed

with lesser blood,

 

talons keen,

incarnadined,

 

from caul or carapace

made whole, face

 

desiccated, grey,

baleful in decay.

 

Form sifting through

transitions, blue

 

smoke, then soil,

filthy veil

 

I lift, emboldened

but appalled when,

 

nocturnal bride

by smile belied,

 

you acquiesce,

surrender, kiss.

 

Dark, delicious,

your ashes clot my lips. 


George Witte's four collections are An Abundance of Caution (Unbound Edition Press, 2023), Does She Have a Name?, Deniability, and The Apparitioners. New poems are published or forthcoming in Consequence, Five Points, Revel, and Think.