Gargoyles

As if they spelled mysterious charms Whereby some tall gray ship should drift Out to a windless, tideless sea Motionless from eternity. This then I seek, O woman-form! O god embowelled in curves of bronze! The shuddering of a sudden storm To mix me with thy minions The lost, who wait through endless night, And wait in vain, to see the light. For I am utterly consumed In thee, in thee am broken up. The life upon my lips that bloomed Is crushed into a deadly cup, Whose devilish spirit squats and gloats Upon the thirst that rots our throats. Gape wide, O hideous mouth, and suck — This heart’s blood, drain it down, expunge This sweltering life of mire and muck! Squeeze out my passions as a sponge, a1