Pearls found in Oysters

There were scratches inside the oven

Jagged claw marked ridges

Only nails made of steel could have made such marks

Or desperation

But we don’t need to think of them

The ones that came before

The stories that lead to this

Sweet sugary bubbling blood

Till it thickens, into gelatinized syrup

Sliding down her throat

Coating the sides

Slickening the jowls

For the splinted bones

And tough soles of feet

She didn’t like to chew

No, she swallowed her prey whole

Like a great boa constrictor

Unhinging her jaw

She’d force them down

And spit up whatever she didn’t like

She spat out the tendons

And the crushed-up bones

Like an owl

She hunted down her prey

Taking what she wanted

With you squirming all the way