Esther Heboyan: THE MERRY MEN OF PLUM COUNTRY

Will you, my Pretty,
Will you, ma Chérie,
Marry the merry men of Plum Country?

I’d rather not, Mama,
Be traded
Nor degraded
For the sake of destiny.

Will you, my Pretty,
Will you, ma Chérie,
Marry the merry men of Plum Country?

I’d rather not, Mama,
Be hurdled
Nor curdled
In the manic shade of a tree.

Will you, my Pretty,
Will you, ma Chérie,
Marry the merry men of Plum Country?

I’d rather not, Mama,
Be kicked in the loins
Nor plucked to the bones
Under a moon so skimpy.

So – have you, my Pretty,
Have you, ma Chérie,
Trod the road to Plum Country?

Mama, don’t you know
Glazed shadows
Return no glee?
And the foul trick on me.

Mama, once upon a tomorrow
If no gentleness grows
Inside plexiglass humanity
Do not pledge away my Lily.


Esther Heboyan.
Used here by kind permission of the author.