---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book... “6 Feet Under” Down in the Dirt (v136) (the May 2016 Issue) You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:

Order this writing in the book A Stormy Beginning the Down in the Dirt Jan. - June 2016 collection book		get the 318 page Jan. - June 2016 Down in the Dirt issue anthology 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

My Brother as Salt-Pork

Al Ortolani

                Wally claimed
that his cousin Tip had been
shot-gunned a year ago with rock-salt.
He knew the risks of trespassing.
Crane Castle had dirt floors,
dungeons, chains bolted to walls,
adult daughters locked below since childhood.
The bragging rights were irresistible.
Wally and I crept through the hedge
on a Saturday morning, my little brother
an unwanted tag along. The lower windows
were curtained, tight like secrets.
Old man Miller caught us on his roof,
as we boosted my brother to the skylight.
He came up the gravel drive in a storm
of obscenity, his fist pounding nouns
into verbs. Adjectives
flew like spit. Wally and I dropped
my brother, and skipped down the ladder
to the ground, running
for the Girl Scout Woods. We threw
ourselves behind the first limb fall-
my brother limped in last.
He’d lost his shoe. It was wedged
between the ladder and the gutter.
He wiped at his tears,
picking at his one dirty sock.
Even as I ran, I imagined his
trust, the stinging salt.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...