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At the Demonstration

By Penelope Scambly Schott

Back when I used to march
in the noon of the green world,

I sang like a crow.
The cacophony of insistence

burnt like lightening.
Now ash lowers the sky

and I gasp through slits in my ribs.
Injustice, are you listening?

Light rises from my round mouth
and my heart jerks in my hand.

Greed hangs among clouds
as we stand here together,

palms up. Whatever sifts down
is our only food.
Added: Thursday, July 3, 2014  /  Used with permission.
Penelope Scambly Schott

Penelope Scambly Schott has published several books.  Her verse biography A IS FOR ANNE: MISTRESS HUTCHINSON DISTURBS THE UNIVERSE received an Oregon Book Award.  Recent books include LILLIE WAS A GODDESS, LILLIE WAS A WHORE, a verse discussion of prostitution, and most recently, HOW I BECAME AN HISTORIAN.

Other poems by this author

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