Sanctuary Poem by Patti Masterman

I tremble so violently sometimes
Like someone who's just given birth-
The tide's gone out, and left the sand bar unbalanced.
The images are ripped, torn loose from my raw under belly
My pregnant dorsal fin
My Achilles heel: wounded, because I ran away
But then tripped over my own spear
Pursued by my own venom,
The words gush out in my conscious blood
At a critical moment, when the flow brims
I choke on my own masochistic chagrin.
The glib moon prevaricates;
Stray beams illuminate the ruined castles;
There's too much nobility to go elsewhere,
Grown huge and stranded with still born histories
Impoverished, ignored even by kidnappers
Sanctuary is a distant dream, an unmarked stop
On the itinerary of the worthless,
Once upon a time, places of interest;
Things not worth stoppering the progress of today for-
Some dead things just forget to decay.