THE DEMON

Out of the body emerges the demon
out of the body extend
tentacles which grapple towards the other body            
to suck out glances, embrace
limbs, quarry entrails,
out of the body project saliva sperm sweat-ducts    
channels for the instillation of vaginal fluids
for the pincers to open and close, the joints
to function, and the otherwise unpaired, unworldly bodies
to engage like cogs
It’s exactly the same body
that suckles and nurtures and restores some things
and sucks out and milks and empties others
and burns up yet others like a jet of fire
reducing flesh and bones to ashes
yet without ever annihilating memories and fantasies.
Out of the bodies’ ashes
emerges the demon again
as painters depicted it
in churches that haven’t been completely deserted
the demon with goat’s legs
forked tongue, red eyes, snake’s tail
a huge, inflated yet smooth member
sexless, androgyne
that lurks in all of us
the dog squashed on the tarmac
its bloody tongue hanging out
like a red penis after ejaculation
steaming guts gaping open
quivering like an insatiable vulva.
At any moment it may emerge from within us
fly out of our mouths with our kisses, our words
our food, our squeals of pleasure and pain –
the demon we carry all our years
in a gestation that’s as endless
and brief as our lives.
At any moment it too may
break free of us.

THE DEMON