Queen

Don’t you know you’re queen?
Whipped, heaving, flower bloom at my feet
Don’t you know you’re queen?
Cracked, peeling
Riddled with disease
Don’t you know me?

No family is safe
When I sashay

Don’t you know you’re queen?
Gleaming, wrapped in golden leaf
Don’t you know me?
Rank, ragged
Skin sewn on sheets
Case in the barracks
For an ass to break and harness into the fold
Mary