The Lull
The Lull
Original Text
Molly Peacock, Cornucopia: New and Selected Poems 1975-2002 (New York: W. W. Norton, 2002): 62.
1The possum lay on the tracks fully dead.
2I'm the kind of person who stops to look.
3It was big and white with flies on its head,
4a thick healthy hairless tail, and strong, hooked
5nails on its raccoonlike feet. It was a full-
6grown possum. It was sturdy and adult.
7Only its head was smashed. In the lull
8that it took to look, you took the time to insult
9the corpse, the flies, the world, the fact that we were
10traipsing in our dress shoes down the railroad tracks.
11"That's disgusting." You said that. Dreams, brains, fur,
13Peacock, with the world. Look hard, life's soft. Life's cache
14is flesh, flesh, and flesh.
Notes
12] Pax: peace (Latin). Back to Line
Publication Notes
Raw Heaven (1984).
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2004
Rhyme
Form
Special Copyright
Copyright 2002 Molly Peacock: Cornucopia W. W. Norton. Permission to reproduce this poem must be obtained in advance from the publisher.