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JARED CARTER

Country House

The rumor begins to obsess them – that there is a hidden chamber, and that it contains a bronze axe head, or a rare piece of Tudor silver, or a first edition by Sir Thomas Browne. They pry into the wainscoting, the plumbing conduits, the brick-lined oven.

They tear the elaborate oak paneling apart and carry it down flights of stairs. They order the servants to cart the pieces to the village, where they are sold to dealers and to other agents who begin to show up in order to bid on the more impressive items.

The building dwindles away and finally disappears. They set the servants to work digging trenches across the grounds. A few yellow flowers still come up each spring. These may have been dandelions or even daffodils, but they are trodden underfoot.




Jared Carter has published four collections of poetry, the most recent being Cross this Bridge at a Walk, from Wind Publications in Kentucky. His work has appeared in the Georgia, Iowa, Kenyon, and Mid-American Reviews, and in Poetry and Witness. A sampling of his poems and stories may be found on his web site www.jaredcarter.com


Boxcar Poetry Review - ISSN 1931-1761