I
bow before my king
Shackles
at my wrists
Bindings
at my ankles
Weight
upon my shoulders
A
knight on my left
Another,
my right
I
glance upon my liege
His
crooked crown a halo
To
those blinded by a faith
That
has long since left me
“Tis
treason.
For
what is the reason?”
His
tongue forks
Between
his lips
Like
crossroads
Split
where action and attrition meet
A
shout from the court resounds
Barking
dogs from which there is no rout
My
jaw clenches
As
I see a reptilian ripple agitate his flesh
Longing
to shed the man suit
Under
his regal robes
“Do
you not defend yourself?
Is
your guilt found in words so few?”
There’s
honey in his hiss
Drenching
his prose
In
a sweet mead
More
than easy to swallow
“My
eyes see no illusions,” I say.
“No
more sorcery, politics, all of your lies.”
A
narrowing of pupils to slits
Yellow,
like his belly
Then
he roars with laughter
Waving
a hand to the side
“What
is this of which you speak?
Listen
to the prattle of his!”
“You
are not our King!
Not even a man,
But
a serpent strangling this land!
That
is why I aimed to remove your head as you slept.”
The
court transforms into a zoo
Filled with asses,
bitches, swine, and rat cohorts
The
flanking knights howl
Hands
warping into paws
Backs
bending
Halberds
falling
“His
admissssssion!” The king stands, fangs exposed
Poison
spraying, “In front of my entire kingdom!”
“When
did this happen?” I cower before madness
“Animals!
Beasts! No better than sheep!
What
has become of my free-thinking countrymen?
Where
is my liege of Divine Right?”
His
skin sloughs away with his garb
A scaled
serpentine king ruling over his kin
“Where
there is the evil of men
No
right is divine
We
are but varmints
My,
you have been blind.”
My
bones shift
As
I realize I have plenty of sins of which to atone
Fur
covers my simian body
My
king is not merciful
He
gives the order
And the
lupine knights feast like starved men upon a wild beast
Please note: The image is not mine. If someone knows who it belongs to, let me know! Thanks.
