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Friday, October 19, 2018

Salt

I'm remains of the girl
who when she heard the horses coming
scraped a gravel grave
in the middle of the road

and beneath the hounds
and hooves,
loud as lungs would let her

begged "Salt,
Sir and Steed -
a bit of salt!"

But Judgement reined mean.
His malice touch drew blood -
"Copper for a coffin,
salty for the tongue!"

And drowned to sleep forever
in the middle of the road
she rots lucid and pleads

for salt.

For Get Listed at Real Toads

12 comments:

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Wow! This is piercingly poignant, MZ!💜

Sioux Roslawski said...

But judgement reined mean. Lovely play on words, and oh-so-powerful of an image.

Margaret said...

Boy, can you weave a poem. I want you to sit beside me at every campfire!

Kim M. Russell said...

I love this poem, Mama Zen! I love the sound effects of 'scraped a gravel grave' and 'hounds and hooves', and the malice in the alliteration of 'Copper for a coffin'.

Jim said...

Poor thing. I am old enough to remember the early 70's poem, "Dead skunk in the middle of the road." It now lives on YouTube.
Been missing you?
..

Jim said...

Oops, should have said "early 70's SONG, dead skunk ..." Sorry.
..

Kerry O'Connor said...

A brilliant narrative, in your signature free verse.. such a wonderful reading experience.

brudberg said...

The images you weave with your story is dark in a way... somehow the imagery and word choices reminds me of Dickens... maybe its the sense of a time passed...

Fireblossom said...

"rots lucid" wow.

annell4 said...

I enjoyed reading your poem, it took me to many places.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

One asks for salt and earns a coffin........such a powerful read, MZ, with amazing imagery.

KB said...

Nice work Mama

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