We are eating meat raw
Close to the bone in everyplace
Where reservations, villages, ally ways
And barrios are desperate and
Haggard

Grandmas set down their Nescafe
Pinching off the dead leaves in their dim
And congested rooms

They have ceased waiting for the letters to come
                                                            the phone to ring

Go ahead husband
Here is your soup

            altar
            smoke
            cupful of seashells
            turned to sand

My back arched just for you
Swan neck illusionist

            golden throat hummingbird
            your pit viper

Drink this
Your holy water
You are the only king here

See the way
You search for my hips at night
Slipping your hands in between my thighs to warm them
                                                                                     they are cold

And not just from winter
You’re a mean bastard but that doesn’t move me
You know where comfort is

Stringent bite of the bitterroot escapes from my mouth
It’s what I do

“You’re too strong,” you say
But you really wouldn’t have it
Any other way

            “… nation is not conquered until
            The hearts of its women are on the ground. …

You fall asleep
Your knees, feet and past vagrancies

            Then it is done, no matter how brave it’s warriors,
            nor how strong their weapons.”

Heavy upon me
I heave you, over and off me
Easily as one of the children
While singing a protection song

You do not stir
This house smells like onions, bread
And liver
You sleep easy that way