Dreams of Blood

Read it aloud.

One night ago I fell asleep:

A pitted slumber with walls so steep

I thought I’d ne’er open my eyes

And see above the soft-seared skies--

And in that dreadful sleep I saw

Such things as never cease to gnaw,

That brood within and scratch and grow--

Such things as men weren’t meant to know;

Such dreams I saw beyond nightmare--

My dreams of blood my love affair.

Not for single drop or drink I dreamed

But for scarlet seas that roiled and gleamed,

Not for bath or crimson sponge of pain

But for crashing storms of rose-hue rain;

All life that throbbed in human heart

Could not quench my thirst, or start

To waken noble senses scared

Of my cardinal darkness bared;

I wanted to sink and slip in fresh

Baths of weeping skin and cold hard flesh,

Nuzzle my nose in warmness bought by

Cuts and pricks and licks so sly,

Where long rocks smooth and soft and peach

Gush waters sanguine without a screech;

In liquids blushing I can’t drown--

They are a bed more warm than down.

The only sound I hear’s the groan

My throat sings as I drink my own.