The Jackals Feast

(submitted as part of a trilogy for the Zodiac Love competition)

The Jackals Feast

Foolish was Hippomenes when he did  
not  pay tribute to Venus for  
capturing the heart of the mesmerizing Atalanta
He should have known better  
Men died in pursuit of her beauty  

It was their star crossed love  
that binds  my fortune in the vengeance of Venus
For the two were cast out as lions  
Forever damned for tempting Fate  

My sign,  Leo, cursed and plagued  
to wear a hollow crown  
In a kingdom where I must do battle
With light footed jackals and crooked neck vultures
Who gladly wait to separate my flesh from bone and scream,  

"Here lies your king!"  

Sign of the sun  
I sought fluid petals to soothe
my scorched soul
My tawny coat and browned mane
Testament to my desert odyssey  
Without relief nor contentment  

Then the maiden came, the Aquarian
She bore a small vessel of water
She poured so that I might drink
Without question  
So that I might live  
With new conviction  

I led her to a bed of desert blooms
Five imperfect pulsating petals pirouetting off their stems that kissed her skin  
One by one  
She's seduced and intoxicated by the fragrant sun bathed roses  

Without hesitation she lets her tunic fall before me  
My growl is guttural  
I happily take her gift as a sign  

We're enthralled by the bliss of our own Eden  
Drunk in the vineyards of Bacchus

Now ruptured by the cackles and caws of jackals and hyenas
Blood has been spilled  
And they mean to feast too