VI.
Furry feet darting fast
I made a grab
missed
it disappeared
down the drain hole
my sense of loss was overwhelming
how was I to know
it was trained like all the rest
to cheat and steal
VII.
Clarissa the Worlds Strongest Woman
a headliner of Putnam's Incredible Circus
had no vices
when they found her in the center ring
no one knew what happened
she had lifted elephants
one handed in her prime
police prowled the tents for days
the Commissioner lost his job
the Mayor saw his re-election possibilities
shot out of a canon
the country wore black for weeks
Christ wept on the cross at Sacred Heart
she was buried in the Great Dismal Swamp
at her request
the case was never solved
but I have it on good authority
foul play was not involved
VIII.
Fingers long as garden rakes
clouds fat with rain
a gloom descends
rustlings in the underclothes
shadows move along the walls
the thief, (if thief is apt)
steals the precious thing she's hidden
Sheriff Jones shakes his head
passes the buck
the Agency won't touch it
too personal they say
perhaps a priest can help
priest, my ass
this violation is best resolved
by choir boys and vestal virgins
there, there little baby
don't you cry
daddy's gonna sing you a llulaby
IX.
I can hear them in the garden
whispering
I've asked my mother to listen
but she's always busy
even though they don't talk back
they tell me things about my family
last night the moon was full
and I slipped out
it was freezing cold
snow was on the ground
I went where I'd always thought
they'd be
all I could see was soft, deep shadow
and the many tracks, like petroglyphs
they'd left behind.
X.
The galley slaves are restive
rats devour the weevils by the drove
whips pop like champagne corks
an officer's found dead
trussed bloody in his hammock
extremeties crudely shaved
no one knows (they say)
what happened but
who can believe this sorry lot
chained refuse from old world ports
crazy with hunger and dread
no weevils to be had
....
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