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The Legal Studies Forum
Volume 30, Number 1/2 (2006) reprinted by permission Legal Studies Forum Lawyers & Poets Journeys Close to Home DEBORAH SIROTKIN BUTLER ______________________________ Ballad for Midlife Rocky ledge to rocky ledge Across dangerous gravel washes You climbed here, barefoot Leaving bloody footprints on bare rock walls. On this empty, windswept plateau You are building a stone house Buffeted by chill winds, only birds Comment, wheeling high above and calling. Rock by rock you built with dry stone No plants, no flowers, no trees You use only rock, rock upon rock Wary of growing things as too soft. You sleep upon rock. You eat rock And wonder why you still hunger; Your body always aches at dawn You half remember music, and fear madness. From dawn to dusk you cut and haul more rock And never feel it is enough; Though every muscle and sinew ache You cannot stop hauling rock. [249]
Morning in Province Town Waves on the sand Footprints vanish The sound of a distant ship&#'s horn. [250]
Deborah Sirotkin Butler is a family law and appellate attorney. She is originally from Michigan, but has lived in Massachusetts since 1983 when she was admitted to practice law. She obtained her B.A. from Michigan State University (1970) and her J.D. from Wayne University (1983). Butler is a first generation Russian American. |
