Lady of Shalott

Rantipole

characterized by a wild unruly manner or attitude :

 

I.

The boat shifts against the rough waters and she

holds on tight to the sides, the metal cutting her palms.

She is in every meaning of the word exhausted.

the edge of her gown -

muddy and fringed, has been spilled upon by water and vomit.

 

her nose - freezing and dripping.

Salt frost crusted over her septum like

ice on a pine needle. She shakes, her heart skipping.

She notices a merlot stain on the cold wet metal of

the bottom of the boat. She watches

the water wash it away and she chokes back bile.

 

II.

She is sitting, legs crossed at the ankle and lips pursed

In a thin line, she hasn’t slept in days and she’s starving.

She brings a tea to her lips, it is steaming but has

chilled for 11 minutes. She knows because

She's watched the clock and

Its incessant ticking.

Stirred in honey to the sweet chamomile, and watched it drip

onto her finger.

She raises it to her mouth, but she does not eat.

 

She shifts - the wood creaks under her body and

she has crossed one leg over

the other at the knee.

She notices the stars,

tries to count them and takes in the midnight sky - a shade of spruce.

She presses her left thumb into her right palm

and feels the beads of sweat.

She smells the river, a shade of juniper

beside her and wishes she knew how to swim.

 

III.

There is a small river in my backyard -

I notice a deer lapping up the water

and a dew forms around its mouth

like that of froth and drip in the mouth of a rabid dog.

A rustle in the bushes, and it falls.

 

A bow an arrow kill -

barbarous

I watch and imagine its brain turning

into jello.  

It bleeds a sangria color from its eyes and I

feel like the hunter

 

characterized by a wild unruly manner or attitude