Granny NemesisGranny Nemesis
keeps her marbles and bones
and small shiny stones
in a jar she labeled "Mystery."
She plays with matches
and whistles snatches
of tunes she heard last century.
Crow feathers and ferns
grow thick in her hair.
Her eye are shrunken, but bright;
they dart in their wee wizened sockets.
There's rat dung and candy
and dreams in her pockets,
but don't ever ask
what she keeps in her locket.
She showed it to someone
and now he's a statue
with pigeons' shit on his shoulders.Perhaps tomorrow, if you feel bolder
go ask Granny to roll those bones
and marbles and things and sing
you the song that only she hears.
If you give her a nip
of whiskey or rye,
she may even tell you why.Karen Tellefsen
kat2@mindspring.com