Reflecting on finding the carcass of a rabbit fallen victim to Myxomatosis, Jordan Stead uses classical imagery to ruminate on death.
The moths have began
To lay claim to this
White Polypheme,
A pale opus
Gentle and quiet.
This little beast
Is now diseased and beat
With soft kisses
From a fetishizing God.
She, the behemoth
Not yet ready to awaken,
Aches. The itching devours.
Mouth open, blackness stills
And the bruises pinch;
Madness stirs in its cauldron-eye.
Kill her, Kill her.
O hierophant, o traitor
How you tease.
Is this to be her religion?
Death loathes and takes her away
In white coats and wheelchairs.