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Monday, September 14, 2009

A Toady Haunt

The bathroom faucet drips hurried footsteps,
carrying him back to dappled wood buried

in repeated dreams: a brushed ritual
circle hasty ringed by displaced logs, bark bit

by lichens; their sacrilege tools — hammer's
rotted-wood grip, nails with rusty shafts — littered

about a stump-altar where brothers met,
made not-so-secret sacrifice, to abash

their god; still suffering toad, random
picked to endure this mock passion play ending

on cross-tied twigs. Its yet resurrected
eyes stare at him, ask simple but damning "why?"

No Samaritan, good or bad, among
pretend Romans, ever stayed their hands to help.

Francis Scudellari



This is my second poem (finally) written in response to Read Write Prompt #91 at Read Write Poem.

4 comments:

Jena Isle said...

Myserious , Francis. Am I a toad? But I like it.

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jena I think we're all the toad :)

angie said...

I adore this!

I didn't realize it was for the rwp prompt until I reached the end. such strong, vivid images--the flashback to the memory that haunts him is flawless.

I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to read -- I've been missing some beautiful work!! ;)

Francis Scudellari said...

Thanks Angie. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I put off finishing it for quite some time. Better late than never :)