The Poppet Doll (Part One of Three)*

The Poppet Doll

 

The Ninth Rhyme of Jean Ami

 

I once abused

A common man,

 

A creature that I know,

 

And beat him till

The blood

 I shed

 

Caused heaven’s tears to flow

 

He did not seek my grace at all -

Indeed, he cursed my name

 

So, every day

I broke his bones

And battered him

The same

 

For he was guilty

Of the deeds

 

That every man has done

And yet denied that what he lost

Was what the devil won

 

And baser still,

He falsely lived,

And vainly he would lie

About the nature of his heart,

 

And look me in the eye!

 

These days did end

For both of us beneath

 

An olive tree[1]

 

When I discovered

That this man

 

Was not a man,

 

But me!

 

I saw him burning in a flame,

A flame that made it seem

 

As if he were a poppet doll

That mocked me in a dream![2]