you die each time you pin-prick

you die each time you pin-prick
and kill; all that you adore
is more, more, more
of the same trick, still,

one joker; a convenient stand in
for it all; a jack--
slim and tall; a bent neck;
two sixes--
diamond and heart of gold;

a loaded deck--
you shuffle; cut and toss
after each revival; a pagan
ritual; lizard skin
and bleached bone.

dusk and dawn;
kill, die and get reborn.