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.