miss-en-scene

act one

a crisp & golden turkey lies in state

attended by cranberry sauce,

five layer salad,

the three stuffings

oyster, cornbread and apple,

sweet potato souffle

I steer great aunt lilli

gently by the arm

marked in smoky ink

that still trembles

occasionally at loud

noises in the cow field

like the cousins lined in

soldier perfect rows

shooting skeet.

act two

the women move towards

the feast a turkey Bologna

sliced paper thin, a smear

of cranberry, three pieces of

lettuce, a scoop of stuffing

and sweet potatoes in skins

with soil marks unscrubbed

a hail of gun fire in a field

outside the prison gates

the woman stumbles in

front of me & I gently

touch her arm as we

march in our two

perfect lines