DOMINATRIX RATTLER
I listen from the mountaintop
Where ancestors teach; covert, slithering whispers,
“This, my winged-daughter, is an exceptional way to fly.”
I catch my Earthly prey’s vibration
With my seem-to-them shuddering
Dominatrix tail.
I whip them and skin them
From toes to sky.
Pausing at the foothills of
Their jugular
Pulsing with rancid nourishment to
The crown of their peak.
The subtle, painless slit
Made under the jaw.
Stiletto holds it steady.
Razor red nails reach inside.
Carving space,
Between dermis and meat.
Gristle meets soulhands,
Snapped with a sudden twist.
No vessel is too sized,
For the unhinged jaw of this mind.
Wearing no specific identity on any sleeve, Hokis channels zir trauma-inoculated mistrust in humanity and love for puzzles into unfolding poems. Zir has worked as a community organizer, high school teacher, and mindfulness coach. Zir is currently on sabbatical, exploring creative ventures, with recent work found in Tiny Seed Literary Journal, The Valiant: Heroes United, and Caustic Frolic.