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Syntax Issue 10
Denver Syntax
{say god can be hurt}
  matthew e. henry


               and vastness is truly vulnerable
what kind of masochist creates this world
of his constant pain and ours? who shows love
handcuffed naked to a bed, pale limbs splayed
like Saint Andrew, but with ball gag in mouth,
dog collar around the neck? who would lay
in submission, raw chest and ribs exposed
like the back of a slave: a leather whip
poised above in callous and untrained hands
without protection, no word of safety?
is this our sadistic source? who remains
still for each preventable thrust, bleeding
from each penetration without pleasure,
while he slowly chokes beneath throbbing weight?