Nicole Bird

Poured Out for Hollywood Rapture

Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.

~ Luke 22:31 ~

I’ve been harvested 

under an extinguished sun—

hibiscus budded into stone

pollen sown to dissipate,

no lineage // no home. 

I’ve been reduced 

to filaments, rubbed between palms

all light snuffed, no smoke 

to provide evidence that

there was once fire.

I’ve been consumed,

kernels crushed under gnashing teeth

desperate to milk the grain 

of any gold left; gilded blood

too viscous to dry. 

I’ve been seduced—

stars plucked and placed under glass

possession the greatest drug, 

too fatigued to resist the touch

of a familiar devil. 

I’ve been forgotten

as I rushed to be taken,

yanked from the soil 

because then it would mean

I made it. 

I’ve been betrayed:

when I offered my soul

I thought I would get more in return.

Calloused heels and a tired mouth;

retinas burnt // squint to see 

the precipice ahead. 

I’ve been sacrificed

to a god long worshiped 

before I ever arrived in an arid land thought barren,

the only riches must be siphoned 

from the veins of those who still dream.

I’ve been sifted.

Portioned

for feast, revelry // bacchanal

cups raised at my fall

the empty wind beneath me,

the perfect angle to witness the last slurp.

Nicole Bird work has appeared in the Angel City Review, Monadnock Underground, and Granfalloon, among others. Her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and she’s currently revising a poetry collection. You can read more about Nicole at nicolebirdthewriter.com.