leper's blood

More than a decade before the dream of the Three Panthers, or the arrival on the scene of The Panther, this extraordinary piece appeared in the poet's catalog to invoke "hot cats pounce to feast on the bones of a withered god". You can fill a volume with the analysis of the metaphors and images in this intense, sense and sensory-loaded bombshell. And yes, it is in the end, all about sex.

leper's blood

crimson flows my molten heart with
sorrowed passion.
red, red eyes sealed with wax and amber.
sarcophagus. blind from lust,
for its purpose I live, my mission
and emission programmed for all time.
crush my mind, my soul, my power for the want of release.
evade me, my dreams, that I may wallow in pride
of fleshy memories and members. no peace
for piece, by piece I am undone, cattle ride
their master into the night for an ounce
of satisfaction I cannot have. leper's blood
is all I have to offer as the hot cats pounce
to feast on dry bones of a withered god.
hiding in the light, brittly split and broken,
a token dreamer in a forest of infinity.
iron is my maker, velvet my foil, unspoken
words my epitaph. blood is spilt for sanity.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.