NEWS
Punctuality: a Poem by Nora Hutton Shepard
Punctuality
The swirling twirling beasties
roiled the horizon: a slithering backdrop
for ramparted castle walls. The maiden knelt
head bowed before a smoke wreathed dragon
who roared like the screeching cacophony
of Chinese geese. St. George is late
one damsel was heard to remark
as she gazed from her turret. Oh dear
said another, we cannot wait.
The earth may topple in its orbit for one silver butterfly
swept off a path and tumbled into the blue,
(or for an explanation spoken a century too early).
When the tower clock struck thrice for two o'clock,
the maiden lost her faith and trembled. The heated snorts
of dragon-fire crackled. The maid fainted and the dragon
devoured her: head, hair, arms and toes—
not waiting for the now, quite tardy, George.
Nora Hutton Shepard
Nora Hutton Shepard is a poet and alumna of N.C. State’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing program, as well a graduate of the MFA Writer’s Program at Warren Wilson College. She taught poetry courses at N.C. State before relocating to Davidson in 2019 to be closer to her daughter’s family. Nora has quickly acclimated to life in Davidson and is a wonderful addition to our community.