from (C)OVID'S METAMORPHOSIS, Book the Second



Ocyrrhoe Transform’d into a Mare

Remember when scarification was a thing, 
how one might apprentice in order to one day
press sigils or squiggles into the flesh 
of a stranger for stacks of silver or 
a false profiteer riding out in the morning
before the sheriff even unshuts his eyes.
They say a man needs a mane, but I have long since
dispensed with the pleasantries of hygiene
in order to appease the forces of chaos 
& ensure safe passage through the astral 
plane to see a horse about a man.  

The Transformation of Battus to a Touch Stone

If a centaur shows up on your doorstep,
you might want to give him a necklace
made of turquoise & dried pasta.  Your bribe
won’t work: he’ll stick around & track
mud all over your modular sofa.  If the centaur
wants to snuggle, better hide the riding crop.
Was it god  or Bob who said 
Everybody must get stoned?

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from (C)OVID'S METAMORPHOSIS, Book the Fifth

Calliope sings: Persephone's fate It's too late to question the logic of curses, to second guess why some birds deserve h...