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The Jester and the Monk
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The jester and the monk went walking
The winter moon
hung like a skull above their heads
Two before midnight
prayed by the river
laughed in the apple orchards
holding hands
they circled a forest of dreams
The jester poked a tongue at the sky
the monk dripped tears on the earth
nailed to absurdity
locked in serious sainthood
campfire burned
children linked arms
close to their love
If not for the living thirst
If not for the agonized fascination
and the ignited chill
no blue bird would they have betrayed
no house would they have entered
like wings
flapping in an undecided wind.
A thousand hours
counting many dawns,
nights of humour and holiness
Anyone could feel the connection
resting in their smiles
Anyone would have swam an Artic sea
to soothe the burn
blistering the strength of their hold.
What they wanted
neither dared to understand
only a bridge
mouthfuls of truth
handfuls of lies
drove them together
inseparable.
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Copyright © 1989 by Allison Grayhurst
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
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Joshua’s Shoulder was published in 1989 by The Plowman, written by Allison Grayhurst under the pseudonym of Jocelyn Kain.
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Published in “The Peregrine Muse” April 2018
https://sites.google.com/site/theperegrinemuseii/home/grayhurst
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First published in “The Plowman: A Journal of International Poetry” 1989
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