shooting spines (manticore)

patchwork predator

a false cannibal

pacing lonely Persian roads


blocking threads to 

a better life

for any and all poor wanderers

a wall

teeth forming

gates sharper than steel


bared in hunger

bared in malice

the whole of what its tail stings

it takes


cutting close

eating whole

tearing skin

and crunching bone


citing lies that this is right

citing others say it’s good

but a good thing

should never leave you

only partial


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