Gaze

Her open eye
was like
nearly black
balsamic vinegar
bleeding
on white china.

— Jonathan Franzen, "The Corrections"

Crying

Streaks
of rust
had run
like
ancient
bloody
tears.

— Stephen King, "Desperation"

Landscaping

The waterway behind the house
is the color of putrid blood.
Dead leaves float in the brown,
stagnant water like debris
from an explosion.
Green and brown coconuts
bob like decapitated heads.

– Patricia Cornwell, "Predator"

Gods

All gods who receive homage are cruel.
All gods dispense suffering without reason.
Otherwise they would not be worshipped.
Through indiscriminate suffering
men know fear
and fear is the most divine emotion.
It is the stones for altars
and the beginning of wisdom.
Half gods are worshipped
in wine and flowers.
Real gods require blood.
-- Zora Neale Hurston, "Their Eyes Were Watching God"