The Kingfish

The Kingfish is the only thing
Lives in water black as this
where the Dead lie still
and the vapors kill
like a spectre bridegroom's kiss
Between the houses, laid like graves
with their broken window eyes
reflected Moon bends into lines
as the Kingfish fin slides by
Prowling bands of thieves give way
to the feral dogs and cats
where even serpents twist and die
to feed the feasting rats
Roaring flame erupting
into a blistered sky
drops hissing cinders in the inland sea
beneath the Full Moon's bloodshot eye
When the voices of the Slaughtered
trump the voices of the Saved
and the fingers point the Guilty out
in the Home of the Free and the Slave
When babies mouth on breasts of stone
and die in their Mother's sweat
and old ones turn their eyes within
as politicians voice regret

Beware the shape beneath the flood
where the Kingfish sucks a breath
Poison is his lifeblood
as he feeds on Fear and Death
And the Breaking of the Levy
is the Tolling of the Bell
that draws the Kingfish back to Earth
from his Kingdom down in Hell