No Say

Strings pull at your arms, legs
Strings reach in
through both ears
they wind their way along each fold and crevasse
of your brain
– tremble
because you have no say.

Strings stretch down
past clenched teeth
between your left tonsil and sensitive uvula, down
ridged esophagus and into your heart
Strings weave inside
both atria, both ventricles
veins, arteries
Your heart beats to the pull
of the strings
– tremble
because you have no say.

They decide
what is in your heart.

They decide
– so, tremble
because you have no say.

But, by God, be grateful.

Published September 2012
on SLiPnet – the Stellenbosch Literary Project

No, not, never

Edited version (above) published by Another New Calligraphy, April 2022

Re-published by The Red Penguin Collection, June 2022