COLLECTIVE POETRY: ROUND 7

On Wednesdays, I post a photograph on my Facebook Page and ask my followers to add a single line of poetry in the comments from which I attempt to create a cohesive piece of writing. This week’s poem represents the combined efforts of seven people. Many thanks to everyone who participated.

FORTY DAYS

The semi gods had been 

mischievous, sending 

a snake disguised as a man,

& everyone wanted to see the spectacle.

Housewives in curlers came running 

And men came, too 

carrying pitchforks & buckets 

preparing to put out the fires, to

wash her bloodstained skirts.

There, bathed in light, we

gathered around her 

stone cold beauty, 

resolute in her quest, 

but the tide was turning. It was 

almost out & we could do nothing

but Ring around the Rosie

We tried to dance around it, our

pockets filled with posies, our

Democracy toppling deeper 

into the shoal, crushed by the

weight of its own promise, the

laurel wreaths of victory, collapsing

into the ashes ashes of her eyes.

Under a moonlit sky, she stood 

a fierce beacon, still 

lighting the way

“Do you still believe

in the dream?” she asked. “Or 

do we all fall down?”