I watched you die once as prey, your new-grown antlers catching sunlight just before they caught the earth. I was the lioness. I watched you die once as soldier, your stern mouth softening as the bullet made limbs limp just before the mountain claimed you. I was the winter wind. I watched you die once as lover, your hands reaching for a heart that wasn't there just before the asphalt took you. I was the car, the road, the night— everything that kills everything that turns away. I'll watch you die seven-fold seven more: in every hunt, in every war, in every kiss that tastes of grief— I am the tooth that finds your throat, the stone that splits your skull, the love that bleeds you dry.