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.