3am magazine logo

Two Poems

By Rob Woodard.

A New Rape of Philomela

A new rape of Philomela
with no rescue by any metamorphosis
like Peneus’ of Daphne,
or even one of simple kindness, duty, or just
plain destiny—
Breasts firm and brown
dark hard nipples
       thrown forward in the struggle,
an expression of fear and desperation
eroticized by the madness
of gods reaching
for their own cocks
in a building chorus
of self annihilation
Tereus lookin into eyes
of terror
before the point of dull death inevitability
is reached
now that it’s gone this far
there’s nothing left to do, I guess,
but lash naked scratched limbs
to opposing trees,
to engender splayed humiliation
before during and into an after
of dark tongueless symphony,
of semen tears and blood
quickly caking.

Celtic Fragment

Pale flesh works best
in cool rain—
I met a girl called
Bronwen …

robwoodard

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Woodard is the author of the novels Heaping Stones [Burning Shore Press, 2005] and What Love Is [Burning Shore Press, forthcoming]. He is currently working on a poetry collection entitled King of Long Beach. His work appears regularly in print and on the web in both the US and Europe. He lives in Long Beach, California.

Share