sarcophagus shelters
box within box
the box of lacquer
the box of cedar
the box of onyx
the box of concrete
the box of electricity
each painted with a face
each face one inch behind the last
inside the final box
the final face
hot and shifting
the core
the molten core
the neutron star
does it struggle to escape?
is it angry?
five thousand years
in the Valley of the Sphynx
and not dead yet
secreted tomb
as flesh secretes its shell, or its cocoon
the nymph emerges
pumping her damp wings
magic is angry
because we neglected it
science is angry
because we don’t believe it
this is its half-life
we half-live it
