Malik Thompson
Incubus’ Requiem
Time-worn claws scales
chafed with brimstone
your forked-tongue
wings bat-like drooping
solitude & talk abandoned nests
a cluster of spiders withered
dull fangs one fallen
what I waxed & placed
on my sparse altar
You rise with the setting sun
no stars no moonlight either
the city flickers empty streets
row upon row of vacant cars
ruin your soul a sprig of wolfsbane
I snap & drop into your open palm
chafed with brimstone
your forked-tongue
wings bat-like drooping
solitude & talk abandoned nests
a cluster of spiders withered
dull fangs one fallen
what I waxed & placed
on my sparse altar
You rise with the setting sun
no stars no moonlight either
the city flickers empty streets
row upon row of vacant cars
ruin your soul a sprig of wolfsbane
I snap & drop into your open palm
Malik Thompson (he/they) is a Black queer person from Washington, DC. Having worked in independent bookstores for many years, he is also the former Co-Chair of OutWrite DC and has taught workshops for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and other organizations. His work has been published in the Cincinnati Review, Denver Quarterly, Hayden's Ferry Review, and elsewhere. He has received fellowships and residencies from organizations including Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, the Anderson Center, and Monson Arts.