From the askew staircase of my nose
To the fishhook in your forehead,
We angle
And bevel.
Molding beauty
Hooking presumption.
Persephone,
A sacrifice to domesticity:
Flowers and bells.
Is death our life?
Caged
Staggered,
Exhausted.
Sweat,
Salve for the fishhook,
Your glance rights my nose.
We cling
Against ourselves,
Against what is,
Against inbred hatred.
And our flowers and bells,
Homes built,
Fish caught,
Lives lived,
Deface the bevel,
The angle,
The molding.
To build anew,
We rebuild the old,
New.