<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="ydpa55b4f0byahoo-style-wrap"><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">Sometimes A Wild God</span><br class=""></div><div id="ydpf9d8e0b5yahoo_quoted_4521147293" class="ydpf9d8e0b5yahoo_quoted"><div class=""><div id="ydpf9d8e0b5yiv2482032950" class=""><div class="ydpf9d8e0b5yiv2482032950ydpd6f50811yahoo-style-wrap"><div style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.<br class="">He is awkward and does not know the ways<br class="">Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver.<br class="">His voice makes vinegar from wine.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">When the wild god arrives at the door,<br class="">You will probably fear him.<br class="">He reminds you of something dark<br class="">That you might have dreamt,<br class="">Or the secret you do not wish to be shared.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">He will not ring the doorbell;<br class="">Instead he scrapes with his fingers<br class="">Leaving blood on the paintwork,<br class="">Though primroses grow<br class="">In circles round his feet.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">You do not want to let him in.<br class="">You are very busy.<br class="">It is late, or early, and besides…<br class="">You cannot look at him straight<br class="">Because he makes you want to cry.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The dog barks.<br class="">The wild god smiles,<br class="">Holds out his hand.<br class="">The dog licks his wounds<br class="">And leads him inside.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The wild god stands in your kitchen.<br class="">Ivy is taking over your sideboard;<br class="">Mistletoe has moved into the lampshades<br class="">And wrens have begun to sing<br class="">An old song in the mouth of your kettle.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">‘I haven’t much,’ you say<br class="">And give him the worst of your food.<br class="">He sits at the table, bleeding.<br class="">He coughs up foxes.<br class="">There are otters in his eyes.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">When your wife calls down,<br class="">You close the door and<br class="">Tell her it’s fine.<br class="">You will not let her see<br class="">The strange guest at your table.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The wild god asks for whiskey<br class="">And you pour a glass for him,<br class="">Then a glass for yourself.<br class="">Three snakes are beginning to nest<br class="">In your voicebox. You cough.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">Oh, limitless space.<br class="">Oh, eternal mystery.<br class="">Oh, endless cycles of death and birth.<br class="">Oh, miracle of life.<br class="">Oh, the wondrous dance of it all.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">You cough again,<br class="">Expectorate the snakes and<br class="">Water down the whiskey,<br class="">Wondering how you got so old<br class="">And where your passion went.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The wild god reaches into a bag<br class="">Made of moles and nightingale-skin.<br class="">He pulls out a two-reeded pipe,<br class="">Raises an eyebrow<br class="">And all the birds begin to sing.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The fox leaps into your eyes.<br class="">Otters rush from the darkness.<br class="">The snakes pour through your body.<br class="">Your dog howls and upstairs<br class="">Your wife both exults and weeps at once.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The wild god dances with your dog.<br class="">You dance with the sparrows.<br class="">A white stag pulls up a stool<br class="">And bellows hymns to enchantments.<br class="">A pelican leaps from chair to chair.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">In the distance, warriors pour from their tombs.<br class="">Ancient gold grows like grass in the fields.<br class="">Everyone dreams the words to long-forgotten songs.<br class="">The hills echo and the grey stones ring<br class="">With laughter and madness and pain.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">In the middle of the dance,<br class="">The house takes off from the ground.<br class="">Clouds climb through the windows;<br class="">Lightning pounds its fists on the table.<br class="">The moon leans in through the window.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The wild god points to your side.<br class="">You are bleeding heavily.<br class="">You have been bleeding for a long time,<br class="">Possibly since you were born.<br class="">There is a bear in the wound.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">‘Why did you leave me to die?’<br class="">Asks the wild god and you say:<br class="">‘I was busy surviving.<br class="">The shops were all closed;<br class="">I didn’t know how. I’m sorry.’</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">Listen to them:</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">The fox in your neck and<br class="">The snakes in your arms and<br class="">The wren and the sparrow and the deer…<br class="">The great un-nameable beasts<br class="">In your liver and your kidneys and your heart…</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">There is a symphony of howling.<br class="">A cacophony of dissent.<br class="">The wild god nods his head and<br class="">You wake on the floor holding a knife,<br class="">A bottle and a handful of black fur.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">Your dog is asleep on the table.<br class="">Your wife is stirring, far above.<br class="">Your cheeks are wet with tears;<br class="">Your mouth aches from laughter or shouting.<br class="">A black bear is sitting by the fire.</p><p style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); margin: 6px 0px;" class="">Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.<br class="">He is awkward and does not know the ways<br class="">Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver.<br class="">His voice makes vinegar from wine<br class="">And brings the dead to life.</p><div style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42); white-space: pre;"> </span><font color="#26282a" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">- Tom Hirons</span></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>