he shoulders shame
carrying the weight of the dead,
slung over him
partnering with gravity,
these memory moguls slow him down
though he keeps trudging
when one drops, another
takes his place -- first his father, then
a brother, stillborn
not half the weight of a stone,
yet his carcass bends his back
like any full grown beast
for he did not weep
with his mother when its blue soul
was yanked from her womb
nor did he shed a tear
when his father's heart gave out
a billion beats too soon
when he forgets his sins as son
he recalls another one--the boy he
slew on a brown river's bank;
floating still in the Mekong, riddled
with the rifle's rabid rounds, he often catches
a ride in memory's stream
leading a relay team of shame shifters
he carries with him every step, though
the world sees him walk alone
Mar 27, 2017
Mar 27, 2017 at 9:13 PM UTC
he shoulders shame
carrying the weight of the dead,
slung over him
partnering with gravity,
these memory moguls slow him down
though he keeps trudging
when one drops, another
takes his place -- first his father, then
a brother, stillborn
not half the weight of a stone,
yet his carcass bends his back
like any full grown beast
for he did not weep
with his mother when its blue soul
was yanked from her womb
nor did he shed a tear
when his father's heart gave out
a billion beats too soon
when he forgets his sins as son
he recalls another one--the boy he
slew on a brown river's bank;
floating still in the Mekong, riddled
with the rifle's rabid rounds, he often catches
a ride in memory's stream
leading a relay team of shame shifters
he carries with him every step, though
the world sees him walk alone
Request permission to use this poem