A Poem for the Slothrops

[Richard Romeo]

from Alexsandar Ristovic's Devil's Lunch

"Flirting with a pig"

Come to me, you who dress yourself in court finery
while wallowing in the mud,
come to me with your piggish eyes averted.
I have some understanding for your embarrassment and
for your vanity.

It's not right for a poet to like the same things you do,
but there's something dear to me in your debauchery
to which you yield with everalsting ambivalence.

Still, the devil waits for you in the slaughterhouse.
He has fat fingers, a sheepskin coat and an assortment
of fine cutting tools.
He stands in the middle of a large room with legs spread
aprt, wearing rubber boots and playing with knives.

In the meantime, his helper rinses a wooden pail
and watches the boss's daughter climb down the ladder
lifting her skirt so that pinks soles and shins show.

Come to me out of your mire, Madam Pig,
I'd like to whisper sweet nothings into your large ear
before they lead you away,
by turns throwing curses and praises upon you.
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