Tuesday 18 November 2008

Poetry Chapbook 18

Bread Knife

I am a sword in the hands of a child
the slicer and dicer and tamer of mild
a dozen or more tiny scimitar edges
waiting to cut any monster to wedges.

In the hands of the trained I will bite in defence
aligned with a forearm in cut increments
a simple punch sees me cutting up skin
if you don’t see coming you’ll know where I’ve been

For now I’ll sleep under a pillow of down
protecting a child from the monsters in town
One day she’ll forget me and then with a grin
I’ll open her up from her leg to her chin.

8 comments:

aims said...

Holy crap!

Love the rhythm and swing of this Rachel....

Rachel Green said...

Thank you Aims :) - a powerful beat.

spacedlaw said...

I am glad I did not read that last night. I shall never look at my bread knife in quite the same way now.

Rachel Green said...

Thanks Nathalie - DK wants to shop this chapbook around for a children's publisher afterwards.

spacedlaw said...

You might be more lucky with the people who published Tim Burton's Oyster Kid poetry...

Rachel Green said...

I doubt it would get anywhere. If I though getting a novel published was hard...

BT said...

Yes, a truly strong beat to this one. Superb. What is in that head of yours?

Rachel Green said...

Knives, mostly, I think, Gina :)