She spoke to him like the end of the world,
Like a mother disappearing
From the earth of him,

Revelled in cruelty.
The act of speaking a transformation, her words - birds
Flitting. A dialogue of ravens. Her and her sister both.
Sharp beaks that mocked him,

Plucked out his eyes, for all
That he were so close to death to be carrion.

Nature unnatured.

He softened himself, for a second, splayed his weak belly open
As if kindness could only be restoration,

As if, through weeping, the world could acquiesce its hands like a mother, remove the darkness
From his eyes and settle to its rightful place beneath him.