Faux Fable
Sly the Sullen Troll sat by the dried up river
that was his bed, under the bridge,
and sighed. He stared at his lonely bed,
since he was alone with no friends anymore,
since they left when he took a lover.
Sly had been out under the sliver of moon
hunting the fat babies of the humans in the village,
but now he returned to the shelter of his bridge
to avoid the paralysing sun.
Sly used to sleep there with his lover,
the river Dramenselva,
but now he was alone since he sent her away
because her ways were wearing him down.
In ancient tradition this place is called,
in the native tongue, “Standing Stone, Running River,
because Sly ran the river out and all that’s left
is Sly in stone and dry river bed of the Dramenselva.
And that’s how Sly became the family stone.
Peter Cartwright
February 2016
