ix griseo aliena

and then said elderly Caesar
to the old crocodile
which lay staring alone
beside the wide lagoon
its cataracts like opalescent
buttons

I too am through
I wake before the grain
only to grow more dry
I await the harvest
of my shriveled soul
but my deviance
gives me longevity
I am long in the tusk
and dull like a beast
and this water
woos me

and then as upon
a thin black line of evidence
the old crocodile
launched its final form
snagging proud Caesar
by the broad of his foot
in sandal wrapped
and then snapped
three more times
the et cetera
along the leg
and took him down

the brightest omens
presage
the darkest clocks