Cindy Bousquet Harris
You say that pain and terror
tenderize the meat,
sweet taste of suffering
will bolster your virility;
perhaps your heart is tied
behind your back,
your conscience hung
and skinned,
muzzled by the ordinary,
money boiling in the mix.
Does fear make you tender?
Pulse pounding,
straining for mercy,
wedged against the wire,
or just too limp
to struggle, crowded in a cage
of superstition,
waiting for the hook.
Clamor 