Gargoyle Lover

by day he looks ordinary unassuming
but I must have recognized

something in him
I’ve always had a soft spot

for the monstrous
for Quasimodo compatriots

just as he probably recognized
something in me

(God help us outcasts)
by night

when we are joined
I am not disappointed

as he turns to stone in my embrace
roars as he climaxes

his shadow betrays him
reveals what demons fear:

wings unfurling grotesque profile
mouth open to devour

to fight the legions of hell
you need to raise

a little hell of your own
combine dragon parts with parts of lion

parts of chimera parts human
male and female all

and nothing
chaos in a single vessel

lord of gutters and church corners
your name means throat

in the gullet a gargle a guttural language
a protruding tongue a tempest lexicon

where wind is your phonetics
and rain and marble your elocution

there has always been power
in effigies ask the golem

ask the Green Man
ask Sheela-Na-Gig

ask the idols
all remnants of gods past

but what are you what are you
my brute angel my creature comfort

no spare parts no afterthought of creation
and in the morning torn sheets

claw marks on the headboard
and I see when dawn throws down

the shade of my house
a guardian on my rooftop

waiting patiently for dusk.

Lauren Scharhag (she/her) is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry, and a senior editor at Gleam. Her latest releases include Screaming Intensifies (Whiskey City Press), the In the King’s Power series (self-published), and Ain’t These Sorrows Sweet (Roadside Press). She lives in Kansas City, MO. https://linktr.ee/laurenscharhag