Ode to Mantid

I must have swallowed
up your skull
seven or more times
now but again,
you mount. Again! You
headless horseman!
You same-sex lace
limbed mate!
You mate me writhing,
raptorial, cannibal.
You’ve watched me rip
hummingbirds apart
at their ruby
throats with such
quaint affection. Now,
you let me pluck away
your legs. O
my spindly thing! O
acephalous Anne!
Wanton Marie!
You know
they say I am three
times as fertile with brain
in my belly. You know
it is not nearly enough to
be eaten. Go on, my
dearest animal,
try again.

By Alissa Nalewajko

Biography:

Alissa Nalewajko is a student at Princeton University studying creative writing. She’s from Boise, Idaho and loves to explore themes of persona and surrealism through her work. She has been previously published in Zeniada magazine.