Down by the root-rot black-barked trees;
Walking in the bad water up to my knees.
Why, girl, why?
To carry these tarantula babies in my hair,
So they don't sink slow with their bellies to the air.
You know I love you, girl.
The road is flooded where the water snakes slide;
They feel like the arms of the devil going by.
Come back home, girl.
In my room is a hat pin long and sharp,
Like the scorpion tail hidden under my heart.
____
cuh-ree-pee!
ReplyDelete:)
'arms of the devil going by' was my fave.
I read this twice--once out loud--and it really seems steeped in a madness that is as deceptively smooth as the beautiful blue of the water in that picture--one can feel that there just have to be bodies under there--the calm of the question-answer sequence which seems so structured and orderly(not to mention the cadence and rhyme) only serves to make the gooseflesh crawl the more.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least we find out at the end why she's in the swamp.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sound mad to me
Rick
Lulled by the rhythm, but snapped up at the end and left dangling...at the end of a rope.
ReplyDeleteWow, Shay.
This is shivery good. The imagery is incredibly visceral.
ReplyDelete{{{shivers}}}
ReplyDelete♥
Oooo! Love them tarantula babies in the hair - would't want them to drown!
ReplyDeleteThe call and response is very effective - I can imagine the response being sing-song demented.
A-fucking-mazing, Shay. Makes me want to head for the swamp across the street in the woods and hypnotize the water snakes. ;-) xo
ReplyDeleteI can see this girl, hear her sing-song chant. I believe.
ReplyDelete