Body of Evidence

Daddy watches over the body he once buried

A long time in the past

When secrets were kept so

The forest growth is thick now, carpeted and stagnant

Much harder for the wild dogs

To dig and sniff and know

The spirit of the dead man twists and turns in torture

The reasons for such horror

Tormenting his remains

Daddy’s never spoken about this beastly slaughter

She knows it from the wild dogs

The body lies in splendour

Blood-eagled in glory

Gagged forever, eating dirt

The body rots in sodden ground

Supping soil endlessly

Small justice for those he hurt

The cleaver and the hammer will never be detected

They were thrown out at sea

One witness was a seagull, swooping in for crabmeat

And who was she to share it?

The body sets in darkness

Secrets never spoken

Silently just mulching down

The body lies there as a sign

Ancient, promised warning

Haunted spirits ever bound

As Daddy watches over the body he once buried

A long time in the past

When an eye was for a tooth

Who will give the medal to the courage of her father?

For honouring revenge is the bloody truth

The body lies in splendour

Blood-eagled in glory

Gagged forever, eating dirt

The body rots in sodden ground

Supping soil endlessly

Small justice for those he hurt

The body sets in darkness

Secrets never spoken

Silently just mulching down

The body lies there as a sign

Ancient, promised warning

Haunted spirits ever bound