Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Friday, February 12, 2021

Double


Our horse was haunted, afflicted with a doppelganger

said by the stable hand to portend death.

She could see the moon like an ornament on the dawn,

or the bulge of an apple in my coat pocket,

but not her double dipping its head as if weary from its own mimicry. 


Aunt June said she has to see it, the way we saw owls in the barn rafters.

If she doesn't, it's just foxfire

the devil dancing on a rotten log.

She won't get moon eye from a dream.


All spring and into the summer the double stayed,

unfed, unbidden, inexplicable. 

Rain on the roof sounded like snap beans.

Sun made the ground stream, ghosts rose, bewildered.

An old horse collar fell from its nail

though it never had before.


After that, we stopped seeing the double, and Aunt June said 

that's the way of things, girl,

but it gave me a peculiar feeling, 

like hearing a handsome boy tell a bald-faced lie.

______________


for Sunday Muse #147.

13 comments:

  1. This gave me goosebumps! Wonderful, mysterious, and amazing! Your imagery is always powerful and eye opening my friend!! I love the cool direction the image took you! Stunning!!

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  2. "Rain on the roof sounded like snap beans..." You are at the top of your form in this one, Shay.

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  3. The ending sticks. I can chew on that like a stick of gum.

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  4. A goosebumpy tale! Great line: "She could see the moon like an ornament on the dawn"

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  5. Oh my goodness! Too many incredible lines to quote but my fave is "her double dipping its head as if weary from its own mimicry." Wowzers! Fantastic!

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  6. ~ 'it's just foxfire the devil dancing on a rotten log' ~ brilliant how you used foxfire here. My grandmother often told us ghost stories .. one about ghosts in a barn that was falling apart, about how the ghosts were frightened away by the scary foxfire glow ... I still remember the story ... my sisters and I clamoring for more.

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  7. Exquisitely written ... and that final line is perfection!

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  8. This felt like a ghost story whispering itself over my shoulder. Leaves a shivery memory.

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  9. So much ghostly mystery with details I can taste and chew on. Very cool. The owl in here has me wondering if you know the book "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" and the legend it refers to.

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  10. Horses get spooked easily. Their intuitive nature senses nature.. You have crafted
    a wonderfully haunting tale.

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  11. Ending is great. You managed to find dozens of amazing lines. Congrats on finding a way into WTF two blue horses.

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  12. Clear and crisp images and unique phrasing. This is an eerie narrative and wonderfully done!

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  13. Wow, Shay, I love that ending. It stays with you.

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?