The Rainy Night in Kentucky

The rain is setting in.
Night and rain go well
together.  Hell, why not be

sad tonight?  I’m not tired
of being broken hearted—from
baby’s cradle, mind you—yet.

 

 

The Prayer for Pigs

O God, my swineherd God,
send me two pigs please

to swallow my two demons;
drive them like nails into

the poor pigs’ brains—better
make it three, three pigs.

Maurice Manning's most recent book, Bucolics, is now available in paperback.

 
Copyright © 2009 by Maurice Manning, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of U.S. Copyright law, and it may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the editors are notified and no fee is charged for access. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author.