Gargoyle 19
cover photos by Richard Peabody (2) and Brian Sheridan
publication date 2/8/1982
And Ten Hail Marys
David Sheridan
Stoking the furnace was my job.
Afterward I’d dawdle, enjoying
The smell of moldering wood and rot down there-
Spider’s breath, Melissa called it.
As the soot settled, I’d stare into
The coal bin and hallucinate:
charred potatoes from the Hundred Years War
shrapnel from a Nazi buzzbomb
Melissa would drape her peach-colored panties over
The shovel handle and taste of vinegar and salt
oysters bedded on African ice.
Afterward I’d dawdle, enjoying
The smell of moldering wood and rot down there-
Spider’s breath, Melissa called it.
As the soot settled, I’d stare into
The coal bin and hallucinate:
charred potatoes from the Hundred Years War
shrapnel from a Nazi buzzbomb
Melissa would drape her peach-colored panties over
The shovel handle and taste of vinegar and salt
oysters bedded on African ice.