Instructions for Foreigners

                        1914

Dawn Potter

Eloquence is not required;

we explain every word that you say.

There is no charge to enter,

merely a charge to stay.

A nail in a hoof is worth two in a hand.

Thoughts are like men in a boat.

If a sentence is trapped on a sandbar,

only its bones will float.

As melodies flit, you should count them

before you prepare to cry.

For lack of a nail, your horse was shot.

Burn the barn, and your eyes will dry.

[first published in Hawk & Handsaw, issue 5 (2012)]