I cling to speeding, spinning cones of lead
That pierce the air and armour, skin and bone;
Once deep inside, I ditch my deathly ride
And spread destruction, quell life's fragile wick.

I cleave to sharpened shards of stainless steel
That separate the living from the dead.
A scratch, a nick, a cut will let me in
To fester in the ragged bloodied flesh.

I steal by roadsides, lakesides, seasides, waiting
For unwary or foolhardy souls
To cast their fleshy vehicles in my flow -
Soon drowned and crushed and broken by the tides.

I hide in air and water, oil and blood;
Drawn to life's sweet heat, I bathe and bask,
Divide and multiply and overrun you;
I corrupt you, bursting from your insides.

I stow away in love's soft arrow tip -
My favourite secret deadly trick is this -
And strike the body, mind and soul with one shaft,
Wreak my havoc with a lover's stray hand.