Harlan & Siv
Euglena Harlan presides at our
Church of Gullibility in the Vale,
accused of murdering his younger self.
Prosecutor Marat Siv arrays
testimony, exhibits, arguments
against the Judge-Who-Rules-at-Pulpit.
During a recess, Siv confronts Harlan
at the rear of the sanctuary, with these words:
“I have a nose for justice!” Said schnoz
leaps out of Siv’s three-piece, hovers
noisily, then surges forward, impelling
Harlan swiftly up one aisle to a point
high above the altar (by sleight of snout).
Siv tolls, “Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!”
Harlan: “Get. Me. Down.”
Siv frees him, “You’re a good sport,
Your Honor.” And slips that precious proboscis
into his vest pocket for next time.
Mark Blaeuer lives in the American South. His poems have appeared in dozens of journals, including Bluepepper, Bone Orchard, Centrifugal Eye, The Charleston Anvil, SurVision, and Uut. Kelsay Books published a collection, Fragments of a Nocturne. Twitter @BlaeuerMark