Contributor: Craig Kurtz

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We were right decorous,
unassuming and punctilious;
we observed all forms
and were proper to the core;
chivalry and probity
were our creeds and covenants;
little did we know
. . . we’re really carnivores.

We were conscientious,
distingué, and quite courteous;
we observed deportment
and acknowledged abstinence;
gallantries and beneficence
were our code and catechism;
but in the end
. . . we’re only savages.

What do the neighbors think?
We’re civil and so circumspect;
we polish our façade
with good taste and comity;
demotic weal obliges us
to uphold pudeur and devoir;
but underneath our frocks and cloaks
. . . there’s naked skin that’s ravenous.

We were scrupulous,
above reproach and virtuous;
we concurred the norms
of rectitude and politesse;
gentility and etiquette
informed our moral consuetude;
but late at night, in the dark
. . . we’re uncontrite cannibals.


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Craig Kurtz lives at Twin Oaks Intentional Community where he writes poetry while simultaneously handcrafting hammocks. Recent work has appeared in The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Blotterature, Reckless Writing and The Tower Journal.