Lilly-Livered And Poisoned-Arrowed Poem by Robert Rorabeck

But what beauty apart from the body:
That mythology dancing to the ground—Parades
Piggybacked on parades
Like roses in the graveyards—
They touch without a sound—lilly-livered,
And poisoned arrowed:
They will be made to do what they can do best:
They will go back to school tomorrow:
They will settle into the west.
And they will do what they can to forget about her:
She was left in pieta in the wagon;
And they will be hung over tomorrow, but they will
Remember where they buried the gold:
It was either next to the ice-cream shop or
Arcadian alley—they will try to remember how she
Touched them, and how much they paid her:
Maybe, they hope, they will be able to get their
Driver’s license to go out to find her,
But after all—and anyways—they were just doing
What they were told.