Invidia (prologue)

I am Leviathan; I am of stretched skin and sagging eyes,  
I am the one with the cursed belly; by the sullen waves  
that lick till all bloats in pink-raw agony.  
I smell the rottenness of it, feel its desperate seaweed caress.  
 
I am Leviathan. I am like liquid  
in the shadow, accustomed and free within it;  
I am pensive, coiling and twisting my length.  
I can be hidden in this thick if I close my eyes, so heavy  
and fern coloured, waiting behind a pin-prick pupil.  
 
I am Leviathan and I will always arrive.  
I am the dreaded second, I am the stinging dusk that always  
stalks the dawn, I am what you will adjust to.  
I am cousin to the morning star, that twinkling place  
that you will never touch, but always reach for.  
 
I am Leviathan, I am the smiling canine at your feet  
with bared fang, eager to snatch any crumbs-  
any falling treasures, your treasures. I am the hunter  
of the treasures of the heart; I am the swallower of hearts.