CRY OVER SPILT BLOOD

Cain, a common run amuck of a man,
Was harmless as a serpent and wise as a dove.
After killing Abel, Cain went red-handed
To the Land of Nod to sleep and forget.
But he couldn’t sleep or forget.
Guilt gelded Cain and made him angry.
Wrath wreathed round his neck like the serpent,
And he went out hunting. Once he’d shed blood,
Man could not sleep or forget.
For the memory of man is long as that far back.

Elva Griffith

CURIOUS

Heaven’s now underground
Life is bombed to kingdom come
Christ is a mountain made
Out of a molehill a mole comes
To see what on earth is going on
The mole is blinded by the sun

Elva Griffith

HEADLINE NEWS

Cinderella ousted from palace back into servitude. “Her slipper’s too old and worn,” Prince says.
All over the west coast of Ireland swans turned into ugly ducklings.
Snow White found dead and gang raped by seven dwarves.
Sky falls on Chicken Little’s head.

Elva Griffith

OUT OF JOINT

God’s fallen from His machine!
Essential perpetual cogs have stopped
Effects are asserting independence from causes
The speed of light’s inconstant
And time is out of space
Prayer sayers, pry levers, crow bards, hell raisers,
And up-wakers have come to help

Elva Griffith

THE PALLING SHADE

My darling wore mauve till I was sick of it. I tried mocking her, but she whimpered and whined till I stopped. The older she grew the more of a slovenly mop she became. She grew fat, then fatter than that. One night, realizing my interest in her had flagged, she put on a mauve veil and negligee and began a belly dance. I’d vowed till death do us part. And it was time. My darling wore mauve in her mauve satin casket.

Elva Griffith