The Ruby Bride

I was a vestal sacrifice
To a ruby-toothed beast
Whose gaze becomes salivation
Licking talon to lip in feast
At tender, unblemished innocence

In the dark, I believed
(Because I could not see)
How he described himself,
How he described me
And I was painted the monster.

Meal after meal, he preyed
As I apologized
For being hard to chew
And he prized
How easily I was consumed.

In chilled blood and thirst
He devoured more each year
Complacent with his prior serving
Enjoying my growing fear
More with every passing day.

Then, just once, he thrashed
Breaking open his lair
Light fell upon his filthy scales
His spiny tail- I saw him there
In all his slimy snarl.

I saw he was the monster,
And I was not.
Now he sees it in my eyes;
I know his rot,
And he hates me more each day.

He wants my eyes to go away.