Opus 1694

Phillip A. Ellis

O sullen pard
   padding inside me,
   never releasing
from bondage I,


I seek to keep
   you caged with sinew
   laid upon muscle
with bloody dye.


Yet, sullen heart,
   morbidly fallow,
   seek not to speak
but close your eye


and downwards drift to dreams, though sleep be hard
and dreams from weeping valves forever seep.

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