Skull Cups
The Celts respected their foes
cracking heads like hard boiled eggs
scraping the craniums
into bone-white shells
The warrior’s skull
an oyster pried open
smoothed into an elegant bowl
at battle’s end an adrenalin ride
into a world of spiritual verve
The worthy opponent fought long
and well, making his quota of the dead
the Celts preserved his lifeforce
poured mead or other heady elixirs
into the brain pan swirled around
the bone cup then drank down
the spirit of their enemy
Immortality sealed and consumed
in a grail made from mortals
so many fearsome battles remembered
such legendary adversaries honored
at the expense of their lives