Tammy Ho Lai-ming & Reid Mitchell

Taste of Blood

Teach me, teacher. Teach me, wolf.
Let us run in the night that's gleaming.
The taste of blood is in my mouth.
 
Love to the bone, grin to the tooth.
My heart gentle and easily smitten.
Teach me, teacher. Touch me, wolf.
 
The moon signs its name on my youth.
My chest swells and my heart fast beating.
The taste of blood, so good, in my mouth.
 
The smell of blood has become my truth;
Throughout the world I hunt its scent.
Teach me, teachers. Teach me, wolves.
 
I forgo my form, my family. I do not rue.
Every one has someone else to resent.
The taste of blood full in my mouth.
 
I have lost the pack I love.
These are not words. I am howling
For teachers to teach me. Teach me, wolf.
The taste of my blood fills my mouth.

Invitation
 
Night, we play cannibal in the dark.
It's a game - no flesh is cut, no blood shed.
Don't believe in those crazy remarks
 
He makes at random. If he had one part
Your imagination we'd still be wed.
Night, we play cannibal in the dark.
 
My arms are tattooed with teeth marks.
And true, an eerie scar on my forehead.
But don't believe in those crazy remarks.
 
To locate me at midnight, just follow our sport.
X marks the spot you'll find in my bed.
Night, we play cannibal in the dark.
 
He lies when he says my teeth are filed sharp.
Fat missionaries don't keep me well fed.
Don't believe in those crazy remarks.
 
We play cannibal love with cannibal hearts.
See how my lips shine greasy and red.
Night, we play cannibal in the dark;
Don't believe any crazy remarks.

The Chauffeur Must Know
 
The chauffer eyes my diamond ring and knows
I am the new wife of his master.
He gives me a hug, quite improper, and bold.
 
Doesn't he care he'll get grease on my clothes?
Versace costs more than this bastard.
He gives me a hug, quite improper and bold.
 
In the limo, there's enough room to tango.
His master's wives are getting younger,
The chauffer eyes my diamond ring and knows.
 
I'm not a woman. I'm a centrefold
Without a staple, a dorm room poster.
He gives me a hug, quite improper, and bold.
 
My body, my appetite, my wit are all sold.
I don't get stronger, nor do I get feebler.
The chauffer eyes my ring. He must know
My worth declines each second I grow old
in the sight of our master investor.
The chauffer eyes my diamond ring and knows.
He gives me a hug, quite improper, and bold.

Day in March
 
SHE:
Oh brilliant brilliant weather for the zoo!
Look at the elephants, the lions and the mooing cows.
Shall we write this date in a haiku?
 
HE:
In my morning cup are grounds to be untrue:
Perambulator, alligators, and scowls.
Oh brilliant brilliant weather for the zoo.
 
SHE:
Feed the parrots nuts, the pandas bamboo.
Oh my, are the giraffes staring at my blouse?
We must write all this in a haiku!
 
HE:
The vendors' hands: goddamn, don't eat the food.
What deranged god set amahs and children loose?
Brilliant disgusting weather for the zoo.
 
SHE:
(My aim is for him to think I am a fool.
Scorn me. Don't make me a substitute spouse.
I know this is a villanelle, not a haiku.)
 
HE:
Write seventeen sounds:/ the world of dew
Villanelles/are scarce in French mouths.
Oh brilliant brilliant weather for the zoo
We must write all this in a haiku.

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