Engraving on the hilt inlaid with gold

Newly daubed with tar of flesh and bone

A ruddy smearing on the blade

Tearing ‘tween muscle, marrow

A carving of the heart

Of face and features

The dismembering, of an eye, some teeth, a smile

Blood like wax dripping into the fissure of time

The rift in the year, the passing instant

And the driving force of Kairos’ blade

Preserving the lifeblood in the veins of the lettering

The sentencing in MMIX, inlaid with gold

Marred with the permanence of a swirling red