Duty to Discharge

i.
I was quite moved
by the strikes she struck
by the balls she hit
by the bat she gripped
the butt of

were we dancing,
was it base ball
or were we
having sex

ii.
cock gripped by the neck
flutters, clucks, claws
until its head is cut off

when it is done,
a mission accomplished
it flutters, flaps its wings

what's left of its neck
is a bloody mess

its bloody feathers
to pick all of, to pick all off

must dip its body in hot water
make feathers soft enough
easy enough to pluck, to pull out

hand full at a time
until it’s naked
down to its skin

is it a sin to kill a chicken
should I be too chicken
to kill a chicken

when the time came
daddy killed sheep
a knife across a throat

blood would spout
sheep, even then
would not open its mouth

because goats
could not be counted on
to keep quiet, to be as still

these we took
to the abattoir,
to the slaughter house


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2010
12:35 p.m. 26.01.10