Our shadows danced
around
the fire like savages
before a kill, unaware
that our souls
were their prey.
Graced
without inhibitions or regard
for self-preservation,
we danced on.

The flames licked
our heathen heels, scorching
flesh long into the night.
The way we moved bled
fevers through seared skin
and cast
the smells of our filth
upon the air,
beckoning the scavengers.
And still, we danced on.

The way our demons swayed
together taunted the flames
to burn hotter, and the darker
the dance became, the more
we yearned to feel cracked
and burned flesh
flake from our bodies
as they drew even
more from us.

We disturbed the beat
of blackened hearts pounding.
Grinding with the rhythm
of charged pulses, we howled.
The strange tongues thick
in our mouths, provocation
to summon the monster.

It sat quietly
watching us like
it knew us
well, the beast.
It had sold us
our crowd.
The foreign eyes watched
with red stained hate
and envious jealousy
dripping from their lips;
they did not know
they were wrong.
We would consume
them, these monsters
of pain.

Our shadows swung
wildly off
our hips, lunging
into howling mouths
panting for our taste.
We watched
them, the devils
feasting upon each other,
chasing souls into the flames.
The beast smiled. And still,
we danced on.

© SeA 2017

© Nicole Lyons 2017