In the first documented reference
to Friday the 13th, it is already
described as an ancient superstition,
but the ancients had much more
complex methods for detecting
an inauspicious day. They might’ve noticed
for example how those three crows
skimmed low & landed in the field
to reunite with their shadows.
They might’ve seen the wild
columbine next to the sidewalk
thrusting its red lanterns where
they don’t belong. Our ancestors preferred
hot jets of revelation to the patient
& dispassionate sifting of evidence
and you & I are the eventual result,
with our missing 13th floors
& our boardrooms full of Judases.
Ten million Americans won’t get
out of bed today because
nothing bad can happen as long
as your eyes stay closed.
In an otherwise empty morning sky,
what can possibly begin with
our dead moon’s fish-belly of a C?
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
I’ve seen a different word for fear of Friday the 13th, though I can’t recall it right now.
Evidently some people use “Friggatriskaidekaphobia,” but mixing Germanic and Greek word-roots is kind of dumb, I think.
“Our ancestors preferred
hot jets of revelation to the patient
& dispassionate sifting of evidence”
Love this passage, Dave! We are not at all removed from this today..and it has little to do with black cats etc. We are all too willing to follow the guys who claim to be having those ‘hot jets of revelation’ right over a cliff.