HIGH PRIESTESS

God split me and fried a snake down my middle,

In plain view of me which gasped, in oil. He

Tore the serpent tongue, boiled and chewed it,

Littered the cup, drunk walking, the dew closed

Its eyes when God yelled. Meanwhile, the snake

Digested dragonflies and moths. He aged

Jealous as a river. Wanting coins, wanting sleep.

He jawed my kneecap and sucked my marrow

Until a grass patch grew up his brain and pierced

The skull. His eyes famished & ants ate of him.

At this point I was two days old. Itch of insects

Inside cleaning the corpse. For a year I drank

Sugar water with strenuous love. A pig carried

Me to the next clearing. A green taste in my mouth.

Tongue green, blood green. I saw everything

Is a sheep standing in pasture, sunwarm and rank.

Straw. The good grass people. Whirrings in wood.

In my cupboard, I took out the good pitcher.