Raspy roars summon red-lined clouds,

which overtake bloody thought.

A clarion call demands violence and

the drum’s cadence quickens juices flowing through rivers.

Remembrances of humanity marshal thoughts begging to shine down

as seething primal urges threaten to overtake societal demands.

In a flash of brilliance rationality returns,

leaving behind an empty, helpless dissatisfaction.

Fragments from the first draft:

My mind roars helplessly as a guillotine cleaves rational thought. Where thought existed a moment, a demand for warm blood fills its beheaded void. When does the sullied blade reward the helpless passenger whose trip is answerable to the calls of beast? But once clouds dined in red chase away vision and fill its blinded vessel with ringing thunder.