he'll regret those pomegranate seeds
hades says no talking is allowed at tea time
so we sit in silence while he pours us both a cup.
i try to make eye contact
but he is watching something in the distance,
something bright that makes him squint.
ha, i wonder if there is a sun down here that only he can see?
then he takes my hand and breaks his own rule
(he is a hypocrite)—
he tells me
to love the mouth and all its pointed teeth
because there is no such thing as a smile that hurts, and
to love the hands and all their sins
because the weight they hold absolves them.
i am so busy wondering how the king of the underworld
got to be so darn naïve
that i don't reply, and he must take my silence
as agreement (typical)
because he sends me back up without a fuss.
i hadn't even touched my tea yet.
when i get home i pick up a metal file and take it to my teeth,
and then i do something or other
that gets my hands covered in blood.
the next time i visit hades i ignore his hello
and pull him straight into the darkest corner i can find.
i hold him by his neck with my lovely hands
and bite into his mouth with my lovely teeth
until he's all red and stupid.
then i pour him his tea. we follow his rule this time.
that'll teach him to preach.