the hate

is an animal

red and writhing.

when

a body

becomes a capsule

of hate

nothing contains

it except the

soft permanence

of arms

wrapped round.

What compound

Is hate, it burns bones

And wears

down the liver.

It kills

like cancer

and pulls

weighty

and thick

at the face.

Toxic,

hateful is

healthy

in the function

of alone.

But in the

kitchen

of family

of community

hate smokes out

paper moths

of hope

and suspicion

is the sound

of dark snakes

on dry leaves.