Cherry Picking at the Altar

Roughly translated,

it means

a smoke pot, burning red like gold.

Then many ways to say greatness

and forgiveness, witness

as a goat is sacrificed

in the bloodiest of detail,

body parts and sacred drips.

 

And though I am riveted

by the red gold, the smoke,

my spirit stilled and inward,

the goat gets in my way

every year,

its eyes open and helpless,

its throat open, hooves

upward

 

while I flip pages backward,

looking for a place to rest.

Published in Carmina Magazine, Mythology for the modern day – September 2022

 

Photo by petr sidorov on Unsplash