Psalm 9

She is a comfortable woman
with use for rags and hay,
small bandages woven of new wool
soaked in brine.
“Salt is good” and
“Dress the wound with cumin oil,”
she might say.

Her moon is a clot of soured milk.
A great horned animal bellows
in its cage of wood.
The smell of droppings there and
a paste of seeds and grain.

Her hair is straight as fever grass,
and her hat is damp
with temple juice and rain.
And she drags the hem of an old religion.

But her heart is the muscle-root of prayer
and so her blouse is torn like a heart,
ripped and stained.

April Bulmer has four books and a chapbook. She holds graduate degrees in creative writing, religious studies and theology. She is interested in women's spirituality. She recently won first prize in the TOPS, "Second Time Around Contest." April lives in Cambridge, Ontario with her puppy, Lichee.

Email: April Bulmer

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