war bones
crickets dig graves for each other
call the earth's womb a cemetery
for the crushed ants
and the twisted spines of spiders
moths battle bulbs
weaving through strands
of dazzling porch light
they long
for something they can never have
war bones
exoskeletons stained with blood
flowers with their thorns
raised like wild swords
this is a fight that buzzes
in your veins and tells you that you're alive
beetles with armor cut into
juice spilling on tree trunks
slippery and green
lifeblood of the insects
foxes cawing up at birds
hungry hungry
but this is war
no prisoners are taken
all bodies are eaten
leaving nothing but chewed raw
war bones
