Forsaking all others,
she followed him
Wealth eluded them
Meatless stews fed them
Love sustained them
Abiding fiercely, their
boots caked in mud,
trudging through the
pounding rain; beseeching,
to earn a few pence
Her long wool coat, wet,
sagged, heaving upon her,
soaked to her skin, shaking
with cold, he sheltered her;
his arm about her
Making their way home,
a small cabin, tucked in the
nettles and brier, be their
refuge; although pockets
again, be empty
He hung the oil skin on
the nail, lit the fire, desperate
that shivering would cease.
Boiling the kettle, her hand
upon his forehead
Beads of sweat formed
above his brow, a flush
forming on his face, a slow
rising flush, his body aching,
eyes fluttering
He lay upon a straw mattress,
she, burying him in heavy quilts;
mopped the wet rag upon his skin
Fear crept through her, filling her
A crow cried
“Oh woe to us, be it not
the fever that kills, be it
not the fever that kills,”
she begged of the heavens.
A crow cried.
His mutterings, his moans;
three days, his body afire.
He knew her, slipping away,
speaking of other lives, in
his tortured dreams.
She lay against him, begging
that he stay, begging he not
thither unto death’s door,
whispering balms of endless
adoration into his ear.
Stillness came, the quilts
motionless upon him, soundless
wails, upon his chest;
anguish consumed her.
Crows cried.
She, the dowager of nothing,
owning nothing but his oil
skin, coveting the quilts that
held his scent, her soul dead.
Crows gathered. Crows cried.
© Brenda-Lee Ranta
Excerpt from the book “Myriad of Perceptions”
$13.95 Plus Shipping ~ Available at CTU Publishing Group and Amazon.com
About the Author
Brenda-Lee Ranta resides in a small mining town, in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. She has been employed with her local Police Service for 19 years. She shares her journey with her life partner, who is a musician, poet and lyricist; their rescue dog, Jake and rascal cat Fritz. She is the mother of three children, two step-children and three grandchildren. They are her greatest pride and joy.
Always moved by poetry and prose, she has been most inspired by the works of Leonard Cohen, an amazing Canadian word-smith. This is her first book containing a cross section of her works.
Visit Brenda-Lee’s Author Page At: www.ctupublishinggroup.com/brenda-lee-ranta-.html
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