Poetry: Vex Me

Vex Me
–Bar­bara Hamby
From Babel

Vex me, O Night, your stars stut­ter­ing like a stuck jukebox,
put a spell on me, my bones atrem­ble at your tabernacle

of rhythm and blues. Call out your archers, chain me
to a wall, let the stone fortress of my body fall

like a rabid fox before an army of dogs. Rebuke me,
rip out my lar­ynx like a lazy snake and feed it to the voiceless

throng. For I am mid­night’s girl, scour­ing unlit streets
like Perse­phone stalk­ing her swarthy lord. Anoint me

with oil, make me greasy as a fast-food fry. Deliv­er me
like a piz­za to the snap­ping crack-house hours between

one and four. Build me an ark, fill it with prairie moths,
split-winged frit­il­lar­ies, blue-bot­tle flies. Stitch

me a gown of taffe­ta and qui­nine, starlight and nightsoil,
and when the clock tocks two, I’ll be the belle of the malar­ia ball.