Lesley Tyson, poet
Mary Jo Eisenhower, artist

trial

I might as well be tied to my chair
I cannot rise and run
from these worthy gentlemen
bending over me
putting words into my mouth
describing events I cannot remember
changing my history
redefining my future
they shout down my whimpered replies
as lies failure to confess
to crimes I don’t understand
and i am trapped in the picture
of the mockery of a witch’s trial
the only exit gallows and a noose
left for posterity in blurred shades
of the darkness they fear
my colors drowned in the mud
of distortions of faith

Lesley M. Tyson

they sit in a row posed
as turned toward a camera
white haired unsmiling silent
for sitting in row impedes conversation
yet comfortable enough
to wear colors and jeans
as laundry as colorful as they
dries in a non-existent breeze
i imagine they might be sisters
family likeness blurred
by the memories of their separate lives
and perhaps tomorrow
laundry will come down and
colors will fade to black
for an empty seat outside the frame
then again i think perhaps
they might be church ladies at a picnic
having laid their offerings on tables
they sit unsmiling judging offerings
against their own contribution
turning their backs to colorful display
on the porch
i could almost imagine this a future class reunion
my classmates and i united by white hair
with so little in common that sitting
in a silent row is most comfortable
and laundry becomes a metaphor
for our separate identities and histories
different garments distinct colors
not bleeding into each other
saying all that needs to be said
and perhaps that’s the real story
so i shouldn’t worry when
or who will take the laundry down

Lesley Tyson
Inspired by Mary Jo Eisenhower’s drawing “Hangin’ Out”