Exsanguination Nation

Image: AI-generated using DALL-E and modified by the author; Poetry: written by Tristan Robert Lange, Human-authored.

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Death holds indomitable sway over us all;
Beware: an axe swings where feet never tread.

Like a winding river through pale, tall grass—
Death’s indomitable sway looming over us—
A snake lies lifeless bleeding crimson ooze

From opened arteries of attrition.
Wistful like a river through pale, tall grass—
Death’s unsubduable sway lurching over all—
The serpent oozing in oscilations.

A snake lies lifeless bleeding crimson thick
From opened arteries fast accosted—
Death’s unsubduable grasp is strangling us all—
Wistful like a river through pale, tall grass,
The serpent spraying in oscilations.

Lo! Above! A great bird—eagle—soaring wing span.
The snake still lifeless bleeding crimson quick
From opened arteries fast dissected—
Death’s unsubduable grip is crushing us all—
Woeful like a river through dead, tall grass;
Serpent still squirting in oscilations.

Down from the sky descending with great speed,
Savior? Above! A great eagle—bald—killer wing span.
Sectioned snake wiggles, bleeding crimson blood
From opened arteries, hatchet-severed—
Woeful like a river through dead, tall grass,
Snake blood still spurts out in oscilations;
Death’s unstoppable power oppresses us all.

That’s no eagle savior—nay, a turkey buzzard
Descending down from the sky with great speed.
Sectioned snake seen gushing a crimson flood
From butchered arteries, sharp axe-severed—
Thrillful like a river through tall field grass,
Snake blood alerts out in oscilations.
Death’s indomitable jaws swallow us all—
Truth: an axe swings where feet will never tread.

© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.

Tittu

Poet’s Note:
Exsanguination Nation, is another written in my original Revelatory Cascade form, which I created on December 25, 2024. The form consists of seven stanzas with expanding line counts (2–8), interwoven with repeated and mutating lines that spiral toward revelation. In this piece, the severed snake, the eagle, and the buzzard carry the grotesque truth of empire: that it always bleeds itself dry.