Incantations of an Infidel: A Collection of Poems

By Taylor Dietrich

We are all just screaming for God's attention. But how far would you go?

After grief, abuse, and unearthing the inherent trauma of being a woman, there are not many solutions that seem too extreme. The ancient comforts of paganism, the sisterly cohorts of witchcraft, and the tender embrace of death personified wait around the many dark corners of life. Embark on a healing journey that takes a dip into the Underworld, allowing the reader to feel the true power of the seven deadly sins as they meet feminine rage. Incantations of an Infidel is a poetic voyage for those who have lost their faith but are not yet able to escape the darkness of Heaven's shadow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Jun 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385220137

Book preview

Lust

mouths dripping blood after nights of starvation

carnivorous 

skin on skin. 

la petite mort.

dante must have gotten it backwards 

lust is the deadliest of all sins;

it is human nature. 

Eros

am i falling apart 

or am i falling in love

i bite the skin off my fingers until they bleed 

you’d cleanse your skin after touching mine 

while i would sit in bed and cry 

but i was never sure why

we would walk but not talk 

like sharing moments of silence

for our lost love 

a mutual understanding 

that we would not make it 

but never speaking up 

i was dressed in black 

facing the rain 

sometimes grief comes before death

am i falling in love 

or am i falling from grace 

i have stripped my fingers to the bone

Fresh Roadkill Outside Maxwell’s Tavern 

the foot of a rabbit in my hand 

it began to pour outside 

you wouldn’t be able to discern droplets from tears 

under the dimly lit streetlights 

i hoped to see something in your eyes 

but they held no surprises 

i have been knocked out by one slap

because life never threw me punches 

the walk home is not easy 

one girl alone in a big city 

it never felt this long before

when your hand was in mine  

i have a hard time letting go 

handing out third chances for free

in time i’ll love this city again 

but for now my time is spent 

can’t we talk it out 

listen to the cure on loop 

or not talk at all

just like we used to 

you said we’d come full circle 

but i barely feel whole anymore 

hanging on by a thread 

i have lost my grip on me

because after you left 

i became you 

whoever got in my bed 

i got in with too

12 AM

there’s a song about heaven that once saved my life. but i wasn’t thinking about heaven then

i was too busy breaking my first heart

my greatest love affair yet was with samael 

the accuser, the seducer 

we met one night when i was young and have been holding hands ever since

intimacy grew with my age 

he wraps his arms around me before i sleep. wings provide me with a place to rest my head

his plan for me all along was to join him; be his queen 

i would do it. 

i knew not of the lovers he had outside of me. knew not of who had been in this place before me 

how could i do it?  

seal the deal in your darkest hour. 

but how could i do it?  

i think he almost told me. i wonder what he would have told me

i shouldn’t do it. 

samael doesn’t like heaven

he didn’t like my song very much; didn’t like the way it challenged him 

i couldn’t do it. 

i broke up with