“TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT” – “SUNRISE (MEDUSA)” – “HOUSE OF ATREUS”

TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT

Son of a shepherd Maggot of God
Maggot of God your horses have trampled
Trampled Persepolis
Pissed out the Nile
Black are your helmet spurs spear and cannon
Heads of your brides are white and gold

Son of a shepherd Maggot of God
My kind lord Bajazeth thrown in a cage
Fed rotten lamb he was prodded and puked
Cried as the horses trampled his brain
Bashed out his head against the bars
My lady Zenobia followed him soon

Seat of a kingdom a hole in the earth
Where can I find the place of a skull

Son of a shepherd Maggot of God
Blood is rule where its drops have spilled
Maggot of God your horses have trampled
Trampled your sons as they slept in their tents
Hooves raised high your horses were foaming
Trampled the turrets swallowed the roads

Son of a shepherd Maggot of God
Maggot of God your horses have trampled
My kind lord screamed as they trampled his brain
Approaching the tower is Tamburlaine
Trampled the turrets swallowed the roads
Half the map down the gullet

Blood is the rule a hole in the earth
Where can I find the place of a skull

SUNRISE (MEDUSA)

Somewhere
In a cell
That is not a cell

Pokes her fingers
Through the bullet holes
In the wall

Too small

The sun
A thought
Best forgotten

Her hair falls
Here
There

Outside
The snakes eat themselves
And yawn
Sleeping off
Their last meal

HOUSE OF ATREUS

Babies
Shoved back inside
The blood maw

Would be no worse
Than to endure
This curse

Father to son
Mother to Fury
To Kindly One

A long line of spit
Dripping black

Give us light
If you’re really a god

Give us fire
To burn the palisade

Give us children
Free from the jaws
Of a never-sated
Gore-grinning
Fate

— Max Thrax lives in Boston. His stories and poetry have appeared in Bristol Noir, Punk Noir, Shotgun Honey, and Versification. His novella God Is A Killer (Close To The Bone) will be published in May 2022. Find him online at www.maxthrax.com or on Twitter @ThraxMaximilian.