Black Alchemy Poem by Sheena Blackhall

I have seen hate twisting lives with its warped witchery
I have seen beggars, like fallen angels, hunched on the street
I have seen clouds transformed into juggernauts cruising the sky
I have seen minds lit up with knowledge, transmitting light
I have seen a man changed by drink to a gibbering ape
I have seen headstones in boneyards, where dead-eyed junkies slump
I have seen a woman stalker with the eyes of a cruel fox
I have seen a forest shimmer under rain,a glowing bride
I have seen a man dog tired, having slogged for a loaf of bread
I have seen cuts on a young girl's arm, like strange tattoos
I have seen a wreath of laurel in the gutter
I have seen a bluebottle crawl on a baby's cheek
I have seen a ruined cathedral, holding a lone white feather
I have seen a woman, her brain scooped out like an egg
I have seen a dying fish, like a warrior coddling his wounds
I have seen an earwig drop like a tear from a marigold's face
Black alchemy, changing from better or worse