Leviathan

The stick of sweet tobacco on his leathered hand and the sick of smokey tar on his liquored tongue.
He may not have been a healthy man.
 
His daughter’s blistered lip split by his sunburnt hand.
Her mother, linen-thin, whipped by his twice-barbed tongue.
He may not have been a loving man.
 
His sons’ guarded tricks learned from his losing hand.
Their wives resigned and ticked by his jealous tongue.
He may not have been a settled man.
Grandpa was a land-bound leviathan.

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Katy Santiff has written poetry in various forms all her life. A fan of meter and rhyme, she loves lines that hypnotize the reader with their sound. She believes in densely packed poems, preferring them to be mouthful when read aloud. A lifelong Marylander, she loves waterside living. She currently resides in Edgewater, Maryland. Her works have been published in Vita Brevis, Spillwords Press, and Uppagus.