surrealist_art_by_ray_caesar_5There were no shotguns
no contraception necessary
the sterile
marriage was secret
rushed through with hands in front of mouths
to spare the blush of court-house staff
unaccustomed to women without men
they looked down as if crestfallen
it was fortunate I had not enough time to purchase
a dress
for it had always been my desire
to marry barefoot with knives in my hair
carrying your child to the altar
squirming in my belly
this didn’t come to pass
squinting down lashed road
I see where I dropped myself
in the desert without my shoes
like old coinage without power of purchase
I watched the purple sky
reduce in cold boil
until amber filled horizon
night creatures stirred without sight
I didn’t have a way back
I didn’t have a way forward
this was my dowry
the sand blowing without mercy
scratching at the door