literature

Work in Progress: Matchlock Poet

Deviation Actions

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Literature Text

Stand the gun with its barrel up and remove
the cap from the powder horn. Tip a little
of the powder down the barrel. Ram the shot
and a paper wad with the rod until you hear
the packet sink to the bottom.
She sits all alone eyeing the letter in her hands
curiously as if the letter would talk. Her fingers
move as if trained to do so, shaking as if it is
the first time she traced a line. Her lips purse
as if to kiss an unseen person before the utterance
of a word. Issued from her lips, she reads out loud.
Thumb open the cold lip of the breach cover
to expose the pan. Pour a little powder into
the small bowl and close the cover shut.
Take the match cord in your hands and blow
until the cherry glows. Pin the match
to the firing arm, and lift the gun to your shoulder.
Her lips tremble as she issues each word in a voice
reserved for the quiet corner of a library. The tip
of her tongue dances around the curve of every vowel
and consonant. Gingerly the tongue meets teeth
and the teeth meets lip breathing each sound
into being. She reads the poem written only for her.
Keep both eyes open as you peer down the barrel
of the gun, and match the sights to the target.
The barrel has no riffling, so who knows
how far the shot will be off. Adjust for wind
and hold your breath. Place your finger on the trigger,
and exhale as you squeeze.
The message in the lines are coded, meant
for her eyes alone. Like a gunshot to the chest
she understands every word. The style
is antique, in rhymes that no one uses. Not
the free-fire free-verse of today, but deliberate
rhymes of yesterday. The letter held a poem
of long forgotten memories.
© 2015 - 2024 Darckazuee
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