We asked Sara Tantlinger to pick a poem from CRADLELAND OF PARASITES so that we could showcase it (along with four others that will appear here on every Monday in July), and she picked the poem titled “On a White Horse”, which opens her new collection.
So, without any further babble from us . . .
On a White Horse
I am the rider of the white horse
enigmatic in interpretation
I do not ride as the Holy Spirit,
you will find no gospel spread
beneath my horse’s hooves
I do not ride as prosperity
nor as war, but you could find
both, if summoned correctly
In the name of Pestilence, I ride,
your sacred lord of contagion
bow down beneath divine damnation
As my horse gallops on, I draw back
my bow, a bleeding sun overhead
turns sky to crimson as my brass
quiver demands death; arrows
poisoned with disease fly through
the world, spreading epidemics
abroad in devastating silence
Noble demise in hallowed ground
beckons, come to my earthen embrace
sleep forever in bodily betrayal
as organs shut down, as blood runs
infected and uncured — follow white
mane and tail through the darkness
to me, your blessed liberator gifting
kernels of bacteria to burrow inside skin
In the name of Pestilence, I ride
Pretty great opener, and it appropriately sets the tone for what’s to come! And if you’ve made it this far AND you’ve kept on reading, then I guess it’s time to let you in on a little secret.
Every person who pre-orders CRADLELAND OF PARASITES by Wednesday, July 8th, 2020 will be eligible to win a single copy of the special edition of NOT ALL MONSTERS, the special edition of FAIREST FLESH, and the (now) very rare hardcover (signed and numbered) of THE DEVIL’S DREAMLAND. Again, one lucky person who pre-orders CRADLELAND OF PARASITES by July 8th, 2020 will be picked AT RANDOM to win one copy of all three titles.
So, if you’d like to give folks a chance, then be sure to share this post. BUT! if you think you’d like better chances of winning those books, then SHHHHHHH!
The choice, of course, is yours.
TTFN
