january 2021
(i)
...although occasionally a few vowels
a few consonants do leak out
the abyss fights on in unwavering silence
punching the darkness
for what use is a larynx out here
in this ultraviolet mist
in this immensity that burns
at the back of the throat
what, for that matter, is the use of any vocative sound
if it merely foreshadows oblivion
if its descriptions fail
its nouns turn to pulp
and its adjectives fall apart on the tongue
this language of the vanquished
leaking out
relishing the predator’s mouth
this ultraviolet self
burning in the mist
this larynx surrounded by flames
by no ordinary transcendence...