Captain Blight had changed since we saw him last. His mustache
was not as full or trimmed and the color
of his shark tattoos had dulled.
The glint of his eyes was lost
to a cosmic call
somewhere at sea.
Dragged upon the shore,
he came back with a cap and a cane and ordered others speak
of nothing at all.
Knowing full well we all knew without words
that his ginger beard, dull with brine and madness,
would never again be as lustrous
as right before.
We wondered for years what Old One blew Blight aloof.
And we never knew, for shortly after,
Blight’s beard and brain became a spattered mess of matter
amongst Spanish tile in his newly renovated bath,
(amongst the whisper of forgotten gods)
cane cradled in his grizzly arms.
Poetry, by Blanca Nino.
Blanca Nino is a Latinx writer from California, currently pursuing her PhD in physics. In her sparse free time, Blanca enjoys reading, coffee, contemplating and petting stray cats. Her writing explores the intersection of trauma, mental illness, and body horror with themes of grief and intimacy.
MONSTER'S iNK 