private lesson
deconstructing jiu-jitsu
reconstructing grammar
© Rachel Green April 2026
Marlowe
After thirty years he hadn't aged a day
and people started to avoid him, as if
they suspected some deviltry at work
whilst others, who aged too fast
from the lifestyle they indulged in
accused him of witchcraft; stealing their youth.
He moved away, cut off contact
never to be heard of again
"The Devil took his own," his old friends said
and made the sign of the cross
to ward away ill omen, while he
alive and well, took the names off two graves
and started life anew.
A soul was promised, and a soul was due
but there were ways and means of getting souls
and his new friend's sister Mary
gave him the means to find one, piece by piece,
sewn one to the next from the fragments
left behind from everyday worship.
Some souls were Christian,
and other souls were not, but each
looked the same as the next one
and the devil admired the stitching.
© Rachel Green April 2026
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