The Fablecloth unfolds
The Fabric of distraction
Stories will be told
of embroidered satisfaction
Soul searing spills
of over-wrought emotion
tinge threads of history
with fanatical devotion
Third world napkins
folded thick and ready,
stretch charming lacey faces
into smiles for rich gravy
Ladle overflows
with clumps of greed
well-flavoured
A Norman Rockwell brown,
straining to be savoured
Cutlery falls to Swiffered floor
shiny as a newborn truth
Dogs arrive for fablescraps
wearing new Armani suits
Lick at ankles,
jab with snouts,
annoy with wagging labels,
steal silver spoons
from diningrooms
as chairs slide up to fables
When cloth of lore must be refreshed
we cleanse with machines of war,
extract our bleach from victim's bones,
who die for stains ignored
Each religion forms unsturdy leg
Each leg supports the Fable
The wobble causes wine to spill
Common ground remains unstable
c) C. Butler 2005
