Unholy Hunger

Katherine Kier

the blood shed from biting my tongue

tastes bitter

but you like it that way

the blood shed from the fruit between my thighs

filled with primordial records

metallic and clustered

repulses you

yet you wish to devour the secrets of the universe

oh, the irony

you name me temptress,

then tremble at the spell

you begged to be cast under

you pray to forget me

while carving my silhouette

into your every lover

how many shrines

will you build from my silence

before you admit

you wanted me screaming?

you speak of me in shadows,

yet chase my ghost through every threshold—

bride of Hades,

Lilith’s grin beneath your sheets,

Eve’s bite still fermenting in your gut

you call me chaos

but drink from my well

when your gods stop answering

I am the mother

of your hunger

the altar

and the ash

you bury me in stories

where I bleed for your redemption

but I do not die—I multiply

in every cracked mirror

you avoid at dawn

you dream of drowning in me,

then wake with fists clenched,

ashamed of the softness

that split you open

you built your manhood

from my refusals—

each “no” a nail,

each glance a flame

you saw my power

and mistook it for permission

to conquer

but it was never conquest,

only a mirror

reflecting what you buried

beneath the armor—

a boy with shaking hands,

confusing possession

for proof of worth

you call it love

but it’s hunger

a gnawing need

to disappear inside me

so you don’t have to meet

your own abyss

and when at last

you find me unmoved,

my back turned

like a moon out of reach,

you will scream

into the dark you made of me

tear at the soil

searching for the roots

of what you tried to own

but I am not there—

only echoes and dust,

the scent of my leaving

woven into your breath

you will unravel

thread by thread,

your myths rotting

in your mouth

and I—

I will rise from your ruin

whole,

holy,

and unmarked

as you weep

not for me,

but for the emptiness

where your illusion once lived

More from katherine kier. ↓

• @katherinekier on Instagram and Substack
• You can listen to her soundscapes at katherinekier.bandcamp.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

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