Addie
I hear the saw
Sh-sh. Sh-sh. Sh-sh
As I lay dying.
He cuts
The wood in its new brightness
As I lay dying
Her hand, the fan
Swish, swish, swish
As I lay dying
They left for three dollars
A measly amount
As I lay dying
They jabber away
Chitty, chat, chat
As I lay dying
I wish he were there
The one who cannot
As I lay dying
My husband…
Why is he there
As I lay dying?
Why do they care?
Why can I not leave?
Why do they hold me here?
As I lay dying.
Vardaman
The scales sparkle in the sunlight
The fins… they cut if you aren't careful
My mother… she's a fish.
I'm on the bank…
They come by and try to take me away
No way! Dewey Dell said there was one here.
They et her. That fat one.
And the other ones.
She cooked her and they et her.
Those damn bastards.
The teeth are little and sharp
She shines in the sunlight
And can hurt you if you aren't careful
My mother… she's a fish.
Jewel
The sweat pours down my face
And my back cries out
With every movement I make.
I don't know if I can make it.
I look behind at what I have done,
How far I have come
From where I have come.
And then, I look forward.
Is that not the only thing I can do?
Is that not the only thing a man can do?
A man must look forward,
A man must push through the hard times
Then, a men can be in a better life.
The flanks a sweat-streaked below me
But, we must keep pushing.
I grab the mane and dig my heels.
I'm mad, they say
To take this beast, this untamed monster.
But, I looked to the future
Because I am a man.
Cash
Shk-shk. Shk-shk.
I slide the saw back and forth.
Arms covered in the wood dust
Chips surrounding me.
The bright yellow of the new wood
It's almost blinding, it is.
They watch me.
They think me cruel
They think me disrespectful
I make her box,
I make her resting place,
Her bed
Before she has reached her point of readiness
How vulgar!
I make it where she can see.
How rude!
She watches me.
My planar pushes itself across the yellow expanse
ss-ss. ss-ss.
She is content.
I will give her the resting place she wants
And she will watch me do it.
Darl
I laugh.
They watch me,
Those men in white coats.
That one talked to me this morning
And I laughed.
He looked at me,
Dark eyes like night covered by dark brows of the same color.
He asked.
I answered…. And laughed.
I laugh because I can.
They have not yet taken away my laughter.
They will try.
And I will keep laughing
Until, one night, as I sleep
A man in a white coat comes
And he… he will steal from me
He will take my laughter
He will make me submit like Jewel did his horse
And then… I won't laugh
Because they will have won
When they steal my laughter… they win.
Dewey Dell
I feel it.
The signs have been there
But, I ignored them
For they could not be true
I laid with him out of love
And he left me with the same
But, now…
He did not truly leave
Part of him is still here
In me.
I feel it
And I must do something
Because this part of me
This part of him
Cannot be there
It was out of love that I laid with him
And… it was out of lust that I have this
I feel you.
You are part of me.
When I put my hand on my belly
I imagine
What would it be like if he were here?
Because, you are part of him, too.
But, you cannot be part of me, anymore
I cannot have part of him, anymore
What am I to do?