" A Crown of Flies "
(Thanks to David Lawrence)
There must have been flies at Golgotha:
Blue bottles to report his power of his words
to the Father of Lies,
horse to clean his wounds
so the tomb would be free of impurities,
angry little bitters
a crown of wings to glorify his agony.
There must have been flies at Bethlehem:
Tsetse to help the babe sleep,
house to celebrate creation
in the company
of pig, dog and goat.
There should have been flies at the conception,
drawn by blood and holy seed
spilled on rough cloth.
There will be flies at Megiddo,
vanguard for the pale rider,
last echo of the trumpeter.
The fly before me rubs his claws
back and forth and back
like a sick monk shifts his hands
as he invokes a mantra largely forgotten.
He waits to buzz my rice was rancid.
(David Lawrence, author of the mystery novel, The Dead Sit Round in a Ring, wrote the first line.)
© 2004 Gary Blankenship
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