I. The Pupils of Panthers Closed

carbon smoke scorched the night
billowing from coal chasms
where bats roost

soot gathered in blankets
over globs of tar
ravens & crows emerged from
holes in the bitumen
beside the oil river where
rubber tyres float

shadows hid
spiders eyeing
ants trailing
ink down
vinyl

the pupils of panthers closed

charred asphalt twisted
into a central abyss
where gorillas guarded
the dark emperor
of the onyx caverns

a silhouette sat cloaked
on a throne of obsidian