Sentenced For The Term Of Her Natural Life
Past waves
sucked out marrow
chilling chipped
raw bones
stripping striped
flayed flesh.
Balsam rubbed
in hardens.
As gashed
groaning flesh
rigidly resists
handfuls
of coarse salt.
Raked
across weeping wounds
scouraged bitterly.
Lashes tongue
flickering frequent
constant
incriminations
falling relentlessly.
Cat-o’-nine-tails
allows neither
respite nor escape.
Smelling salts
sympathy
denial Governor ordered
bridled regress
deriving unconsciousness.
Induces no reverence
for suppurate
righteous system.
Leg-bail
impediment
affixed
at left anklet
limits
a woman’s freedom
surged
natural running pace.
Copyright © Terence George Craddock
‘The Saga Of A Convict Lass’ is the original template poem for a collage of poems, symbolic of collective convict suffering, yet unique experiences of individuals, during the penal transportation period. See also ‘Penal Transportation: Forgotten Gaelic Slaves’, ‘Money Purchases Only Pearls’ and ‘Flogged Upon Rack At Sea’ by Terence George Craddock.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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