Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MALEDICTION by JAMES HARRISON

Poet Analysis

First Line: MAN'S NOT A SINGING ANIMAL
Last Line: RIVET HIS STONE WITH WORMS.
Subject(s): COLD; CURSES; PAIN; SELF-PITY; SINGING & SINGERS; SUFFERING; MISERY; SONGS;
Man's not a singing animal,
his tongue hangs from a wall --
pinch the stone
to make a moan
from the throat
a single note
breaks the air
so bare and harsh
birds die.

He's crab-necked from cold,
song splits his voice
like a lake's ice cracking.
His heart's a rock,
a metronome, a clock,
a foghorn drone of murder.

God, curse this self-maimed beast,
the least of creatures,
rivet his stone with worms.



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