United States, (b. 1950)
PIG 311
“In an experimental atomic explosion off the island of Bikini… among the animals exposed to radiation was one pig, bearing the number 311. He was placed in an old warship and was thrown into the sea by the blast. He swam to an atoll, lived for a long time and procreated in a perfectly normal manner.”
— One Hundred Thousand Years of Man’s Unknown History, by Robert Charroux
- I was pickled in brine for a while,
- all of me, not just the delicate feet;
- the bristling body, the ugly snout,
- even the much-maligned ears were blown
- into the sea by a blast I knew nothing about.
- The sleek-bodied goats, the intelligent monkies,
- even the obese sheep in their expensive coats
- disappeared into the unseen slaughter.
- A great wind delivered me into the water.
- I set my short legs churning the salt into foam.
- I don’t know who set this circle of coral
- like a ring in the water, who gave me palm trees,
- coconuts, paradise-this other hard-nosed pig,
- my bride. We have had daughters and sons
- in a perfectly normal manner.
- Our children cover the island now, a chosen,
- cloven-footed race. They breed, repeople the land.
- The children read about me, their father, how
- I survived the great blast. Already the hooves
- of the poets engrave my name in the sand.
About the Poet:
Margaret Ryan, United States, (b. 1950), is a poet, freelance writer, speech writer and floral designer. Books include Filling out a Life (poetry, 1982), and a chapbook, Black Raspberries (poetry, 1987). Her non-fiction books include Figure Skating (1987), How to Write a Poem (1996), and Extraordinary Oral Presentations and Extraordinary Poetry Writing, both published in 2006
Ryan’s poetry has appeared in The Nation, Poetry magazine, The American Scholar, The Paris Review, The Kansas Quarterly, Rattapallax, BigCityLit.com, and many other magazines and anthologies, including The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses.
For many years, Ms. Ryan made her living as a freelance speechwriter for corporate executives in the technology sector, but recently retired from her second career as a floral designer. She taught poetry in the 60+ program at Manhattan’s 92nd St. Y. She lives with her husband, Steven Lerner, in New York City and Old Chatham, NY, and continues to write poetry. [DES-01/22]
Additional information:
- Margaret Ryan – https://www.margaretryan.net/