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Billy Budd,
or the Jealousy of Innocence
by R. James Sennett Jr.
You were too damned pretty,
Billy Budd.
You made the ghosts of Increase and Cotton
want to dance, but, of course, they couldn’t.
Cotton might have if pushed.
Besides, they didn’t know a fiddler.
The sea couldn’t contain a sailor such as you,
no matter how high the waves bounced you around.
You rose above it anyway.
A brilliant cork.
No one takes stock in inherent value.
Rather, looking outward is all one is prone to do.
Everything is shinier in another’s sun.
How sad the silence in this vacuum.
Dedicated to my sensei, David Payne.
About the Author
R James Sennett Jr lives, works, breathes and chases his muse in Louisville, Kentucky. His work has appeared in a number of publications for which he is most grateful.
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