Sunday, January 27, 2013


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)]

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