Crossing

Her ribs strain against taut skin
Hip bones jut like porcelain under silk
Rosebud lips pressed closed
Tongue clamped in teeth like a hunter’s trap.

A face masked with crimson veil
Rust, sand, rubble, blood?
She is stained, bound,
Feared, yet desperately afraid.

The water reflects the image
Of the sins they painted on her flesh
And offers no promises, except
A baptism, or the end.