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Wapsipinicon
they say that Sadie Goode was smart as any man around
she left here on a bus when she was barely twenty one
she came back ten years later and to everyone's surprise
she brought with her a seven year old son
now all the ladies loved that boy as soon as he arrived
they wouldn't let him wander from their sight
they fussed and swarmed about him and they stroked his silver hair
but the men could see that something wasn't right
he did not cry or trouble he would not play with other children
in church he closed his eyes and would not sing
but the strangest thing about him was the godforsaken quiet
no one ever heard him say a thing
everyday the fire engines ring
everyday the Baptist choir sings
baseball cards and silver lockets
gasoline and bottle rockets
every night is humid for a while
there is something in the belly of that child
once I saw him walking through the ditches by the main road
past grocery and bank where the men all watched and frowned
several hounds and mongrels were following behind him
they stepped and circled lightly as he wandered from the town
he passed the beyond the cornfields and stepped into the stalks
I started to approach him but his body became slack
I stood there as before me two large wings the size of men
burst leathery and awkward from the outline of his back
everyday the fire engines ring
everyday the Baptist choir sings
baseball cards and silver lockets
gasoline and bottle rockets
every night is humid for a while
there is something in the belly of that child
at 2:00 am all of the men met out beyond the willow trees
we formed a line and walked without a word
we entered by the back door and we found the son of Sadie Goode
we struck him in the temple and we bound him with a cord
we reached the Wapsipinicon as the sun began to grow
we took him to the water and we threw his body in
the morning sky was worrisome as Sadie Goode appeared
her shotgun aimed directly at my chin
Sadie Goode was not the kind to hold her tongue in fear
or cower from a man who caused her grief
I closed my eyes and shivered but before she pulled the trigger
something caught her eye to my relief
darker clouds were gathering the wind became a howl
the water started rolling Sadie Goode began to cry
rising to the surface came that seven year old boy
sinewy and small his body lifting to the sky
everyday the fire engines ring
everyday the Baptist choir sings
baseball cards and silver lockets
gasoline and bottle rockets
every night is humid for a while
there is something in the belly of that child
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