Celerity

Noel Munguia-Moreno

2023

Oh, to hear the secrets of a coiled serpent; 

I will hunt to no end,  

the anatomy of a sin, 

hidden behind a sapphorous veil. 

Fingertips over the swaying foxglove, 

gloom hung over a mountain meadow, 

heed the quaking of the aspens. 

You dared to dance to the demon song. 

A butcher’s knife hacked into my spine. 

I stand bleeding,  

blood glistening black at the crepuscule. 

Heaven gives a small applause. 

Sky of creation, dawn of deception 

with embroidered stars 

and the smallest birds 

born out of corruption. 

As the ocean replaces the sky, 

heretic and devoted reaching but never joined, 

puzzles in the answer, 

answers in my demise. 

Alas, a kiss of Mercury, 

a soul of fireflies and moonlight 

stands upon Death’s castle, 

weighed against the feathers of intent. 

The Devil stands with the details. 

They ask in a wicked susurrate, 

Who placed you in the witching elm? 

I wonder if anyone will mourn your skeleton in the rain. 

Noel Munguia-Moreno is currently a junior Creative Writing major with a minor in Film. His writing comes from the place where horror movies are dreamt of, and caffeine junkies pluck tulips. He stares at walls or watches nature documentaries when he is not writing. Outside of The Sanctuary Magazine, you can find his writing in Essay magazine or written around the rims of old coffee cups.