In the Fields | Slither Slather

In the Fields

Zuha Nasim

---

Slither Slater

Lila Dubois

It’s begun again 
as it always does 
when it never ends 
the slither slather  
the unraveling - rather 
the raking matter 
of the dither dather 
this slither slather, this 
wondering, 
like a wealthy-
fat-man-
foolish-kind-of hovering 
haze 
fog  
over all the silky slippery 
parchment secrets  
of the silky slippery universe 
Parchment secrets 
to which 
I have rather no power 
and of which, 
of course, 
the dispatcher will  
always blither bather 
sounding very sure 
to all who gather 
that he knows  
all there is to know  
of the rapture 
and how to avoid 
some governmental capture 
information which he learns 
so you need not think 
about how 
to decipher the cypher 
of the stars  
and the starts and goes 
and the “hey, sorry but I just wanted to let you knows” and war  
and the Moonlight Sonata 
of the flowers 
but more specifically, the rose 
and why the more and more I know,  
despite all their radios 
and 24hr talk shows 
and their “watch the way the profit grows,”
the more and more  
I wonder 
so that it begins 
again 
like it never ends 
and of late
I fear they may worry
or take  
or try to make amends
with all my dither dather
so I’ve decided,  
to avoid the smatter,
to keep rather quiet
about my wonderings
and all  
the other 
slither slather