Children are the marble relief bull pinned to the ground in the 3rd Century show of ancient violence of occult sacrifices carved in stone womb shrine Mithras with head turned and mantle billowing pulling a bull back plunging a knife like the world's madness while dog scorpions and serpent prey upon tender flesh exposed and naïve a scene unimaginable frozen in time like a tombstone or sad shibboleth raised to honor the child gone too soon— Rachel's children slaughtered by Herod Pip abandoned by Stubb and his crew America’s children at Sandy Hook great bulls in bas-relief no chance at all simple offerings always then and now. But you are the bull and I am Mithras and I am your scorpion and they are my dog and you are the serpent and we are the knives and these are the lines screaming it.