Maenadic Hymn by Charzie Janovro
Almost could I hear the chair legs
thumping as she rocked,
red casting bloody shadows from her rhythmic motions.
Bathing in the light, she became
a beastly amalgamation
of girl and chair,
so close I could smell the coffee which permeated her every
word.
Silence filled gaps
the haunting orchestra failed to,
pushing and probing at the leftover space
like a hungry child who knows what it’s like to be fed.
Chair legs hit the ground-
she kept screaming.
Inaudible, yet I chanted.
For every lyric had been
carved
into my lungs by a knife
forged from neglect,
whittling away at the surface
until they filled
with ruby which tasted like “Circle”.
Front row faces hung-
switches that had been powered down,
mouths agape and unbeknownst to the
holy
water
that
spat
from each syllable,
filling their lips until it spilled out in the form of cries.
For they too sung along.
Hungry, the silence must be, as the crowd never met my
ears.
Stage lights boiled skin of those around me;
I could feel it, the heat,
pearlescent tears
which trickled down my forehead.
Drool dripped onto my shoes,
hissing as it descended.
Neonate, breath escaped me as I wailed.
Hands shook with the vibrato of
merciless
screaming,
body caving in on itself.
The world behind my eyelids
flashed
till I could no longer remember
one which didn’t.
Sight was honeyed,
saccharine darkness welcomed
respite
from the blazing apparitions.
My right side was taken by a beast,
face paint kaleidoscoped
down their throat.
Still, the legs of the chair ceaselessly fell.
Taking up my place in the cacophony of screams punctuated
with spit.
Clacking my teeth I howled for more,
Porcelain shards which spilled from bloodied lips.
I didn’t hear them fall.
The bass overtook the silence which consumed the vocals
which silenced the singing which allowed the chair to creak in
the first place.
Nothing was left.
A beat
Followed by ravenous thunder.