IT WAS NOT MY CHOICE TO SKIN RABBITS
to let their blood
drain over me
This is something that nobles do        and I
am descended
from a long line of royalty
Commerce prospers       We are not afraid
of advancing armies          Rabbit blood is warm and thin
I was fully clothed when I began the rabbit ritual
then disrobed in accordance with tradition
Rabbit slaughter naked in the dim light
white fur stained red         pale skin streaked red
red pools on the marble floors       I bathe in red
Did I mention that I am of the noble class
You probably have noticed this already
Once I was beautiful but now          my face
my hands      my hair
Have you ever seen so much red
You see my father is ill          his heart is weak
I bring him tea         he does not drink
I mash ripe figs with a spoon
and press the thick paste to his lips
with the same spoon I gouge out
rabbit eyes and tell him     Father they are all blind now
I show him the spoon     their eyes        my hands
He nods his head beneath its heavy crown
My father’s bed is the altar where we gather
all the blind rabbits and me
We know the armies are advancing
We can hear them sharpening steel
When they reach us          I will throw myself naked
across the body of my dead father
and they will see us     and they will know
from what nobility
   we have descended
Image: “Rabbit,” by walker.s licensed under CC 2.0
