Bad Sheep

Hailey Leithauser

Midnight's merely blue, 

 but me, me, me, I'm 

 through 

 and through 

 sloe, cracked soot-

 on-a-boot, 

 nicotine（尼古丁） spat, licorice（甘草汁） whip. 

 You can scratch, scratch, scratch 

 but I stay underskin true 

 to ebony（乌木，黑檀）, ink, crowberry（岩高兰）, pitch; 

 hoist me up by my hooves 

 and shake till I'm shook, I'm still 

 chock full of coke, fuliginous 

 murk. 

 O there's swart in my soul, 

 coal by the bag, 

 cinders and slag, 

 scoriac grit, so please 

 come, comb 

 through my fleece with hands pallid 

 as snow and watch 

 how they grow tarry, raven, 

 stygian, ashed --

 or, if you wish, clean me with bleach 

 I won't 

 flinch, just char 

 down to a core of caliginous（昏暗的） 

 marrow, 

 pure carbon, atramentous（黑色的）, 

 utterly piceous（沥青色的）, 

 shadowed, and starless, 

 each clumpity clump 

 and eclipse of my heart raptly 

 reburnishing 

 a woolgather（胡思乱想） dark.