LITTLE HOUSE on the BLACK RIVER FALLS
by Sycamore Smith

The Lord made scarlet fever
And He gave it to his children
He can fill up coffins
Just as fast as we can build them
My sister lived for half a year
  Before the fever bit her
When she died Van Richter
Propped her up and took her picture

I adored my sister
Till the day that she was buried
But once I saw that photograph
All she did was scare me
I fought my rabid nature,
But my nature was the victor
I ripped apart that picture
And I fed it to Van Richter
-----
I'm gonna hunt him down and kill him
If I hear that hobo squall
The rumble and the roar of the
Black River Falls
A dove from up on high
Soars along until she stalls
And crashes on the rocks below the
Black River Falls
-----
A horse came in to town
Without her rider
I soaked that horse in kerosene
And set that horse on fire
As she ran the flames got
Higher and hotter
You should have heard the hiss
When she finally hit the water

I was married
By the power of the book
I tried it for a while
But that marriage never took
I put my bride into a boat one night,
Tied her to the anchor,
Ran along the bank and shot that boat
Until I sank her
-----
I don't know why
I put my bride into the water
I knew I'd have to answer
To some or other father
All I can say is that
I felt a madness grab me
I felt a demon pin me down
And use his tail to stab me

I received a visit
From my dear, old drunken preacher
He said "Son, you strayed too far this time,
No one can reach yuh"
He slurred that same old sermon
"Men are vermin, bound for dust"
So I clawed his throat till lightning bolts
Disintegrated us
-----
A thunderstorm hammers
A cornerstone cracks
Every light in town goes out
The river is black
Everything in heaven
Swoops down and attacks
Every heart is racing
Every mind is falling back