Forgotten Ground Regained
Sweet and Sour
One door of five · welcomes this guest.Though bringing burdens · she bears ours away.Two staffs support her · when, skipping, hobbling,in black-dotted dress · she dances by;warmly invited, · once taken inhard to send home, · she heals with charmbut her darker side · saddens us too.Let a scene be merry, · she makes it so,yet some in her nearness · never feel joy.Quarreled over, · misunderstood,she speaks a language · souls only know.
Copyright © Donald Mace Williams, 2023
Originally published online by Better than Starbucks (2023)
Reprinted in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 2, Spring, 2024
Answer: music