To Achilles.

'We kill and eat raw, dogs at the heels of our hunger, obeying its relentless momentum.'

(this is a photo of a statue of Ares but lets pretend its Achilles)

I did what you said. 
I gave love a shove,
pried my blue fingers
from its ivory corpse
and swore an oath to the naked pulse 
of fury. 

I was a weak thing;
my spine of glass shattered
a thousand times over. 
You, 
wrath's patron saint, 
preached your doctrine to me. 
You told me it would make me like you.
No longer a prisoner of our flaws;
no longer a victim of expectation. 
Nothing will catch you
once rage lifts you up. 

I handed over my faith. 
My nostrils flared, skin set ablaze, 
a bull to a crimson cape.
And the chasm 
carved by mercy
demanded 
what it had been 
denied. 

I gored myself; 
took my fill of retribution.
But it wasn’t enough–
the chasm wanted more. 
And soon,
I was sucking in air 
to consume it. 

You made me a slave 
to satisfaction.
A carnivore, an incendiary, a beast,
all teeth, no mouth.
You filled my palms with steel 
and unleashed me like a hound
on the scent of blood.
I didn’t stop 
until there were no warm bodies left
but our own. 

Now all I do is seethe.
There is nothing 
sacrosanct about this anger.
We kill and eat raw,
dogs at the heels of our hunger, 
obeying its relentless momentum. 

I watch you now, Achilles, 
with your flaxen hair
carried by the wind. 
I see you for what you are.
Not a god, not a conqueror. 
Just 
a man,
drunk on grief. 
Hell-bent. 

We push forward 
with no other choice. 
Carving circles
into the barren soil
until we’ve made pits
we can lie in. 

final poem in the poetry series! hope u enjoy this body of work- I am super proud of it! 🏹🔥