Shane Kennedy

Oh! But to Set Your Face Aflame

oh, but to set your face aflame,
in effigy.

my incendiary bride
my straw-man
my kindling heart

send smoke
long ohhhhhhhhh’s
into the atmosphere
the layer called
“sacrifice”

burn burn burn
you palpable flame
you sanguine shine

you’ve burnt my fucking tongue

as Apocalypse arrives
let’s watch the fireworks
blips on the celestial radar
Promethean bloom
alive.
alive.

momentary like mercury
silvered with sin
you prayed-before pyre
you hallowed hearth

combustive compost composed of kerosene.

you’re a choleric love
the perfect Spartan
and conversely,
a poor poet

breath of bourbon
scent of sulfur
candied cunt

my, oh my, my little Chernobyl
my, oh my, oh my

you sanguine shine
you palpable flame

oh, what tender

twine oh, what tenuous timber

oh, but to set your face aflame,
in effigy.