AnnMarie Eldon
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Being of Good Constitution
No soldier shall, in time of peace
be quartered in any house,
without the judicial power
of conserves of Wormwood,
Sorrel, Borrage, Bugloss, Marigolds,
Carduus, Clove-gilliflowers, Germander,
Scurvy-grass, Hyssop, Goat's-rue,
Lavender and red Poppies.
Peony, Primroses,
Rue, Sage, Elder, Scabious,
Limetree, Coltsfoot or Violets
shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity,
commenced or prosecuted
against one or all these conserves
made without their treble proportions
of white sugar; or by citizens or subjects
of any foreign state.
Yet note, that all of them
must not be mixed
alike, by citizens
of another
state.
Some of them must be cut,
beaten and gently boiled.
Some neither cut, beaten
nor boiled and some
admit but one
of them.
And no warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause,
supported by oath
or affirmation
and particularly describing
the place to be searched
and the persons or things
to be seized the right of Garden Valerian
which hath a thick greyish root,
lying for the most part above ground,
shooting forth on all sides and against
unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated.
The green herb with the root
taken afresh, being bruised
and applied to the head,
the consent of the owner,
nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law
takes away the pains and prickings there,
stays rheum and thin distillation
and being boiled in white wine
and a drop thereof put
into the eyes,
takes away the dimness of the sight
or any pin or web thereine
which every artist
in his trade may
find out by
this premonition "We the people"
and avoid error.
AnnMarie Eldon was born in Birmingham, England and raised in one tiny 2 up 2 down house in a terrace which inspired her nom de plume. She has been in previous incarnations, wife, psychotherapist, corporate wizardatrix. To September 2001 she divided her sense of irony between homes in the US and UK; she
now attempts her escape from mediocrity within the confines of a picturesque Oxfordshire town, juggling hormones, various children and dogs.
Her work has, is or will be(en) found at Anemone Sidecar, Aught, Can We Have Our Ball Back, Carnelian, Caught in the Net, Conspire, Del Sol Review, Duct Tape Press, eScene, Fire Magazine, Fort Worth Review, IBPC, Impetus, Juice, Junket, Locust, Marlow Poets, Meeting of the Minds, Melic Review, Mipo, Mipo-Print, Muse Apprentice Guild, Music eBook, Niederngasse, Numbat, Ophelia's
Muse, Poets Against War, Poetry Kit Magazine, PW Review, Reflections 2003, Salty Dreams, Snow Monkey, tin lustre mobile, Three Candles, Tryst, Wandering Dog, Write-Away!, Writers' Hood, xStream.
