Carmen Butcher

Unconventional Morality

Can a gun decline
a hand
or bomb lie
between my legs
like a man
with a passionate _______ ?
I will walk
in apple orchards
on green grass.
I will learn to listen
and not compromise
when my individuality
whispers.
I will like my bones.
I will like candles
flame.

Carmen Butcher writes: I have a Ph.D. but don't hold it against me. I grew up near Atlanta and studied at the University of Georgia. I was a Fulbright Scholar in London ten years ago studying Anglo-Saxon. Now I'm a stay-at-home mother in Northern California. I chase my daughter, play with my husband, edit books, write (revise) poetry and hate to cook.