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Pity

Dappled Things

Sarah Gajkowski-Hill

and we were supposed to recognize this dank silhouette:
He--mottled, knotted, screaming
shrugged into a lice and tick-eaten rag,
wrapped tightly in her unwashed hair?

light emanated from his bare footsteps
his progress spreading a dim glow miles around,
energy prompting boats he stood on to push themselves
into the middle of lakes 

should I have picked a different sacrament?
no--the outstretched arms are familiar enough
I’ve had that bite, the tormentor’s lean, the vein-loosening
shovel-dig into the hand, the saliva and spit.

it’s not that I want my distance
or to only kiss your cheek
but for pity,
for pity,
do i really need dangle 
from the same hangman’s tree
to know your love,
to stamp it on my brilliant new skin?

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Filed Under: Mary Queen of Angels 2008, Poetry

Mary, Queen of Angels 2020

Purchase Featuring nonfiction from Joshua Hren, fiction from Jennifer Marie Donahue and Rob Davidson and the winners and honorees of the Bakhita Prize in Visual Arts.

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