Black Rail

Do you hear the devil's laughter? low within the marsh waters rustling high the tree tops Answer not with prayer but within a smirk of doubt Don't tilt the boat least you fall in and a fat gator eats you alive for lunch Or an angry snapping turtle bites a hunk of flesh off your hide shoot them copperheads with a bb gun Silence in this soaked land a drizzle of rain coats the lush vegetation It shimmers and shines when the sun breaks loose Cattails are full break em and milk comes out Bloodsucking mosquitoes tiny vampires that the fat bullfrogs to full to feast on Dragon flies hover over and tadpoles dance in a swarm Black Rail hiding in the reeds boat gets closer hear him growl Tiny bird no one ever sees Ki-Ki-Krrr Ki-Ki-Krrr Where could you be I hear but do not see Time for home and mom's slowed cooked beans corn bread squares with a tab of sweet butter Deep in the nightfall with the bedroom window cracked do you hear the faint sound of the devil's laughter hiding lost souls in murky water graves Black Rail waits for dark flies away in the midnight sky fly fly fly tiny bird with the dark you are safe