Jesus is Lord of this divine hell,
what is on the table, what I read
in the water's ripple. The monster,
the menstruant, the mother's

devouring hysteria. I am a maelstrom,
counterpoint in her wake.
What did Adrienne take when she dove
into that wreck? Some measuring tools,

a mermaid mask. Beautiful dreamer
paradox is your meter. Exile at home,
uinheimlich exile. The dangerous gaze
of the phobic's child, she who knows

where the serpent's eggs are hid,
she who weaves herself in fear. Acid kiss,
one cruel bird to roost. You are
no mother, but a shard of murder.

Your children love storms, the psychic
shine of the accident prone, the fishy
eye of innocence,
the tumult that leaves us dead.