Mouth Poem by Theresa Haffner

mouth

it has teeth
and i will bite you

like i bit my mother’s nipple
when i was only a tiny baby

it can really clamp down
on something it wants
and i would rather
bite your head off
than have you take
anything away from me

mouth
oral cavity
i can suck you
deep
suck the
venom from
a snake

i have a mouth
and it has tasted
many savors

in the female
it is used for
hunting
and i could as easily
kill you as caress you

blood dripping from my teeth
and streaming down my dress
like rubies

mouth
it is an instrument of desire
and i can enflame and fulfill
any that i deem to be
to my benefit

but like a female predator
i must always be on my feet
as if with a litter
of young to protect

it is not for casual use

i take my pleasure at the
other end of the spectrum

where discernible shapes
merge into ambiguity
and the red rays of light
fade to black

it is the gate of self knowledge