one two three four five
there are five of me
us
five?
the fifth is half of me
doubled?
she speaks to me in riddles with no answers
if there are five snakes and two of them get knotted together how does the sky call out to you?
five ash tally marks to
mark five ash
with no mark
when the earth is scalded do the scars slice you open?
one two three four
pots crash from the cupboards
five
the neighbor will give you sixteen cups
of the good white powder if one two three four or five
palms get burned?
the neighbors dead she starved to death weeks ago
three reminds me
put the pots away there’s no use now
two turns on a burner
just in case he chimes
four lights a smoke we’ve got to think
o-o-h-s and a-h-h-s
our red blooms
like poppies in the springtime
oh how we love it there in july!
hot black potash sap
our tallies weep
from winters tears
the sky really does hear
