Call Me Lizbeth

by William Schley-Ulrich

First published in November/December, 2006, Volume 3, Issue 4, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.

I crept up the stair, fat Abby was there

I lifted my hatchet—parted her hair

The gore on the floor formed a crimson sea

(Why nobody, nobody knew it was me)

I wiped off the blade, then cut off her braid

Dear old step mother, she’d no longer be

Slipped off my clothes, wiped the blood from my toes

(And nobody, nobody, knew it was me)

Father came home—he had been into town

I bid him lay down—cracked open his crown

A prettier sight, you never will see!

(Still nobody, nobody, knew it was me)

Soon folks came around, they made clucking sounds

“Poor little orphans these two girls now be”

“These awful killin’s—done by some villains”

(But nobody, nobody, knew it was me!)