Love Poem: Crimson Fog (Part 2)
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Written by: Mark Matthews

Crimson Fog (Part 2)

The water's dried up,
trees broken and dead,
the pleasant scent of decay
permeates from everywhere,
sinking into the pores
   of my nose,
burning away any other smell.
I watch my pack...
       I guess twist is the best word,
backs hunching more
     as they try to become upright.
Front legs elongate,
          paws dragging on the ground.
Hair falling out in clumps,
the patches left
growing longer,
       all ragged and nappy,
almost like dreadlocks.
Ears wilt,
     snouts shorten
                      and widen
sprouting more teeth
than can naturally fit.

They make the mistake
of thinking they
    rule the pack now,
             wrong.
I pick the one
I had given her
      and rake my claws
   across the gut,
spilling intestines
                    and gore
on the dead ground,
then while
it lays there wailing
    I dip my hand
                   within it
and use its blood
to draw a pentical
on the soil around it,
         sacrificing it,
to lock myself
   in a darker state,
      my old self,
the best part of me.
As the ritual finishes
    I howl blood red rage
                    at the moon,
turning the fog crimson
  as it thickens
           to engulf the unfortunate.