The Cannibal

placed an ad; he answered; that is all.
We had our ritual in a private room;
Both he and I in individual thrall
Each to his demon, each to his private doom.

The copious blood came as a slight surprise
And slicing clean took effort, strength, and will,
But on the dish I still could recognize
What oft I ate, yet ne’er before did grill.

O heavenly communion! We were one!
He was both bread and wine to me; and, slain,
He nourished me, rare, medium, and well done,
Enfolded me in sacrificial pain.

‘Tis strange that legal precedents are tested
When all I did was what the man requested.