Agave
Agave
In Greek mythology, Agave was the mother of Pentheus, a king of Thebes who forbade the worship of Dionysus (Bacchus). Dionysus drove Agave mad, along with other Theban women, inducing them to kill Pentheus under the delusion they were hunting a lion. Upon realizing the murder, Agave was exiled from Thebes.
1.
Javelins needle the air,
a strange acupuncture.
One hunt can heal a city, knit
its wounds shut like an animal
trap. Depending on the animal
one hunts.
2.
Circle the prey like a wife,
the woman they missed in us.
A double helix hisses, a jaw
unhinged. We were all Bacchantes
in the wombs they made us wear
like banners.
3.
Lion or Man, he knows fear—
has learned its simple alphabet,
A for Agave, M for mother.
How he drops, like the limbs of a lover
stalled in ecstasy. Now it’s time
for the autopsy.
4.
Quartered, a moon in phases.
I gather the pieces, place his head
on my wand. A trophy is what
a woman catches, when she leaves
her hands unwashed. Bids them
sieve with blood.
5.
Oh blood! Oh prize, oh son, oh sin!
I curse my hands again, mad spiders
warping, wefting. How I leave these lines
bereft of any rule. I file, insectile,
from here—to be despised and
to be h(a)unted.