Images of things that creep that burrow that swim
Disk-shaped and glossy or cylindrical and pronged
Ropy fuzzy amorphous swarming solitary or chained
Of organ systems that function but badly or not fully
Of cuts bruises and amputations
Of earthworms writhing in the storm-swollen gutter
Of emissions from factories and refineries
The vague contours of a superfund site
The oblivious warning of an overdose
Of threatening plants oleander deadly nightshade and ricin-laden castor bean
Of animals that employ venom for defense or predation
Of large vehicles labeled with bullying epithets
Their disproportionate tires gleaming like tar
Their smokestacks exhaling opaque miasmic fumes
Gratifying the drunken spectators’ lust for destruction
Fury for transgression crush the weak and burn their books
Of megatherial corpses warming in the dry sun
Great hooked lips as lustrous as obsidian
Near which scavenger birds hop and squawk
With bald heads and naked necks and apathetic eyes
Their slovenly feathers in alarming disarray