We share a house near the creek
layers of mud and clay make up the ground
Large cats we brought adapt to the terrain
The sorceror enchants the water
The local miners look toward us
men whose religion is luck
Desperate from their barren hills
yellow mud and clay day long
The food is scarce
Life is abundant
we move up and down the creek
we were human once
We compete with panthers
that we ourselves adopted
Tonight they attack the miner's camp
Their swollen fingers barely curling triggers
The night has it's meal
The camp minus one more
Salve, for the camp marinates in fear
Seasoning, we observe several miles therefrom
Their panic lights up the sky
The sorceror sends the wind toward us
The scent on the air of intoxicating shock
Long hours of fragrance and euphoria
In pitch black cats lick their bloody claws
their tongues scraping abrasively
calming out choked up spines
making us salivate in the dark
The sorceror points frankly eastward
Spring storms unleash destructive torrents
gushing upon the the distant ranges
Local creek starts to swell
A fattening serpent agile and restless
chugging across the valley bottom
soon to carry the miners camp away
As they struggle to sleep
The flash flood erupts
Taking the whole camp with it
Sparing only one
The future governor
In the morning clear and scalding
we dragged this man to the bare willow
where debris and animal skulls lay
We nailed him to the tree
The sorceror danced and sent waking dream over us
The screaming man gave us true music
the distant call of the big cats a harmony
As we celebrated his crucifixion
