“Ferrum” [Excerpt]
s no s laves s in nest/s with
in come sir my lie
ge lord it i
s now y/ our turn co
me b e me rains fa
ll no wa ter in t me and p
lay your p
art the sun ros he t
ub under sk
in sin for ty days fo
rty nigh ts forty ce dis for forty
sins j'aim faim j'ai
faim god of spire spes and p
raise turn and turn the bo nes sing
a son g of wa
ter a wat er so
ng sin g song sin g song de
fend the d ead & sin n
o sin sin g the bo nes h/o
me what w ill my b ones say h
ow do the y forty we
eks come to t erm shh au di can you
not he ar from the de
ep the voi
ces not sir ens we are a
t sea the d art of my sto
ry stings i me
ant no harm no hurt res
cue us rag and bone men in
dict the a ge pears in g
in in wine win ter wine and y
ou Ruth this story ne
sts in the ne t the we b of ti
me tam p it down do
use the flam e of this ta
le what pro fit me if mon coeur non est
we wind o ur way sub
water o
nly the bone s of the sh
ip their e yes dart this
way and th at soft so
ft they ro
am the ship their cri
es grate on me
y ears drag the dee
p for the b ones of my so
ul their sou ls cast the n
et wide to the d eep men to the
p and a tot of ru
m...
From Zong! by M. NourbeSe Philip. Copyright © 2008 by M. NourbeSe Philip. Used by permission of Wesleyan University Press. All rights reserved.