A Poem by Martha Silano

by Mark Bibbins, Editor

Proverbs

Who knows best a pineapple’s heart? A knife.
Words are good, but fowls lay eggs.
A hungry stomach makes a short prayer.
The first may become the last.

Words are good, but fowls lay eggs
till the moon disappears completely.
The first may become the last.
Little by little grow the bananas.

Till the moon disappears completely,
a new moon cannot rise.
Little by little grow the bananas.
A woman is beautiful until she speaks.

A new moon cannot rise
while a hot needle burns the thread.
A woman is beautiful until she speaks.
If you know what hurts you, you know what hurts me.

While a hot needle burns the thread,
a good buttock finds its own bench.
If you know what hurts you, you know what hurts me.
A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

A good buttock finds its own bench.
Not even a bell rings the same way twice.
A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
The eyes close in sleep, but the pillow lies awake.

Not even a bell rings the same way twice.
The tongue has no bones yet breaks its skull.
The eyes close in sleep, but the pillow lies awake.
After we fry the fat, we’ll see what’s left.

The tongue has no bones yet breaks its skull.
A hungry stomach makes a short prayer.
After we fry the fat, we’ll see what’s left.
Who knows best a pineapple’s heart? A knife.

Martha Silano’s books include Reckless Lovely, The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception, Blue Positive, and, with Kelli Russell Agodon, The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice. She edits Crab Creek Review and teaches at Bellevue College.

You will find more poems here. You may contact the editor at [email protected].