SHE COULDN’T SING AT ALL, AT ALL
KISS, KISS, SAID LOUISE, BY WAY OF A PAY PHONE
DOES MRS. HUNT TEAR LINEN STRAIGHT AS EVER?
TIME SPEEDS, SAID LOUISE, WHEN A FEVER RISES
OH, DEAR, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE
THAT WAS ALL, LOUISE SAID, EXCEPT FOR
AND NO SIGN WILL MARK THE MIDPOINT’S PASSING
HERE’S A FINE WORD: PRETTIPLEASE
YOU COULD SAY SHE WAS WILLFUL, BUT COMPARED TO WHAT?
THE MEDICINAL COTTON CLOUDS COME DOWN TO COVER THEM
LOUISE SIGHS, SUCH A LONG WINTER, THIS
DARK SMUDGED THE PATH UNTRAMMELED
THEY CHIRP, THEY WHISTLE, AND WORDS
ON TO THE ONSLAUGHT: A LITTLE MILLENNIAL DIRGE
THE STILL KNIFE STILL SUSPENDED
LYDIA’S SUITE: ONE WITHOUT HAS TWO OR THREE WITHIN
3. SHE WENT OUT INTO THE CLEAR COAST
HAM PAINTS A PICTURE TO ILLUSTRATE AN EARLY LESSON: O TRAUMA!
INTERRUPTED BRIEFLY BY A BORROWED PHRASE, THE SCENE PROCEEDS