Third Swan
- Third Swan
Down her neck, the swan gulps a wet towerfull of old and useless music. She sings.
for years she sings. At her wedding, she sings.The swan is known for her singing, records
herself and gives the record to the boyshe has raped. In this way, she tapes over
the notes as they happened. Assigns the boythe new notes to learn. “I was her lover,”
he repeats to himself. “I was her groom, dressedfor the occasion.” A kind of stage prop.
A wedding rehearsal, where the swan pressedmy wet face to the floor of her shower.
And I had to repeat back the new chordsbefore the singing could finally stop. [End Page 372]
david freeman is a poet, playwright, and essayist from Long Lake, MN. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Kenyon Review Online, Prairie Schooner, Sinking City Literary Magazine, and Honey Bee Review.
