Mississippi Mud (Failed Suicide)
by Savannah Bobo
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A banjo trying to be a cello;
pretty feet
against the dirty concrete
A swinging light bulb
trying to be a Japanese lantern
Her dress hissing around her thighs
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
A pale peach color in pink twilight
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
Untying the brown band in her hair
letting it whip;
a lovely trip
To the bottom of the lake
so she can sink dramatically
The colors tell her a pretty lie
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
Gorgeous like the red in the sky
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
Dropping; a little peach star,
precious,
thrown in a martyr heave
with no ugly concrete
beneath her pretty feet
Water in her ears, sand in her mouth;
unrehearsed and wrong
Head-first;
still wedged into the soil of her home town
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
With the ruffles of her dress turned upside-down
Em I Ess Ess I Ess Ess I PiPi I
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