After the Blood

Annalynn Hammond

I carried a little black book
etched with pitchforks and pentagrams,

shaved my eyebrows
to create a bony mask,

carved an inverted cross
in my thigh as a warning,

and stuck metal rings
around all my openings.

But my nipples shone
like burning cones of incense,

and you still wanted to lick them,
to hear them sizzle.

And I let you. But after
I doused myself in the shower,

I cut SLUT into my stomach.
It had to be made clear.