Poem from Poetry Class Spring 2015 “Deliverance”

 

“Deliverance”

 

In a town ,

Where each dwelling

Remains shaded by

Uniformity

 Fences are the best kind of neighbors

Tenuous and familiar

Just tall enough

To see over

 

A new face appears, sullen

and worn.

He wears his stripes underneath his clothing,

They cling to his body

 like a leech.

Although veiled, they are perceived by

the x-ray stares of indignant strangers.

They are perceived  like a fracture to a bone

that will never heal.

Handshakes reveal how

Slimy guilt feels

On a man’s hand

 

This town is home to mausoleums

Painted white and in the whisper of the wind, bells are ringing

Cobwebs line the door handle.

The inhabitants are the undead that awake only once a week to view the light.

A sign about a mile away reads “Welcome to Deliverance”

As he arrives, this sullen man with luggage under his eyes,

He is greeted by fences

Cold and wooden

As he takes his seat he feels the radiation of the x-rays examining him.

As he clasps his palms together and kneels,

The sound of cold, metal chains are  reverberating around the room.