What did you know and
When did you know it?
I was born in a clump of mud huts
On the back side of an unruly river
That rampaged over its banks often
Enough to wash our meager homes away
Enough to keep my clan ever hungry
What did you know and
When did you know it?
My father was taken by the flood
In the summer I turned nine
Out of respect my mother and I
Joined my older uncle’s family
Joined, used loosely, used for anything
What did you know and
When did you know it?
I made sure my uncle was taken by the river
My ma’s new babe was smothered days
Before in the night time; I couldn’t sleep
After hearing her breath gurgle, softer
After seeing the blood seep from his throat
What did you know and
When did you know it?
Feet wandered me away, barely remembered
Down the river, down down away
Up to one morning when I came up to the
Emperor’s train, gaudy colors flooding me, the
Emperor’s brilliance lifting me up
What did you know and
When did you know it?
His train carried me to the capital city
Overwhelming all my senses while
Underneath the surface I felt my soul
Restored, slowly, to a semblance of life
Restored despite the ugliness at my core
What did you know and
When did you know it?
15 winters passed me by, the old dreams
Never far from mind, fireworks exploding
After weeks or months of peaceful sleep
Eyes drill through my dampened aura
Eyes that can’t see the cage’s stone bars
What did you know and
When did you know it?
I grew rich as a court favorite will
Learning the tools and the talk, never
Forgetting the cruel truth of my past
Hiding pain with fair talk, silks and liquors
Hiding in plain sight from my ghosts
What did you know and
When did you know it?
Until there were no more tricks nor places
Left to conceal me and I turned to the
Right and drove a jeweled dagger
Deep into my beloved emperor’s chest
Deep into my mother’s faded dream.
BillSaysThis 