napowrimo - Martha

[ezekielsdaughter]

Martha

I shucked that dress
Found a gunnysack with two ears of corn on the docks
Enough to stop my gullet’s teeth
from chewing through my rough skin
The bag an easy fit.
Last night rolled myself in dog shit.
Enough to make the pretty noses
in town
and the sharp eyes
above them
turn away
from my Burlap slip
Truer than
cottonade: a weft of
Louisiana Cotton
a warp of Tennessee jute
and indigo
The color
staining my thin thighs purple
with the blood of my kin
red
embracing the work of their hands
blue.

Prompt: