How I Bleed

Where the road ended
The Mississippi took its place
Teeming through every current
Echoed the hiss of diamondback snakes
So I picked up a pen
And I scribbled down their eyes
The onyx of their scales
Their bite, their power, their size
I wrapped my hand around them
Swallowed the venom on their tongue
I slept with them in the moonlight
And I slithered with them in the sun
And when I came to shore
The people asked how I still breathe
I gathered them around me and said
Because this is how I bleed

A parchment I laid out
That ran from north to south
Of all the muses within my head
Of all the words within my mouth
It spoke of toil and trouble
And it told of passion and hope
Phrases built on darkness
Desire, dreams and rainbows
Every emotion I had garnered
From my years set adrift
I placed before the people
And my blood dripped off their lips
And what they saw next
Well it caused them all to gasp
With only a pen and a notebook
I set out again upon my raft