CROW
Upon the wire
Barbed and black
A crow stood watch
With feathered tact
A sideways look
An eye of glass
Mud, red, blood
Flesh flailed back
The few that stood
Did notice not
The crow gave wink
A friendly nod
They carried wood
With hooks tied fast
They dragged the dead
From jaws made slack
The clubs swung low
They arced, the night
Was filled with bone
In naked sight
The crow cawed once
He nodded twice
He'd have their souls
When he took flight
Still others came
The weary arms
Those that shame
Could do no harm
Again they dragged
Again they swung
Still the crow
From midnight hung
He cared not
The where or why
What human sin
He watched close by
He had no need
For cloth or thread
But flesh and bone
Blood stained red
To tally souls
To eat and fly
Black as coal
The midnight sky
A photo that was taken in Treblinka I saw as a chid and never forgot.
Every small town along Interstate 80
told a story as my car tires sang.
They reminded me I’d been
with them before, still nestled
in fields of corn as they witnessed
each season as it passed. I surfed the radio
and with a second ear, learned to listen
for secrets the land revealed.
Downstate, locals said were true
to life, away from glistening towers
of Chicago as it rose on shoulders
of a lake that thought it was an ocean.
A friend once told me about
a woman who never drove the Loop.
A mother in a diner with two toddlers
told them to use their indoor voices
such excitement found, their lives
lying ahead. Her father nodded
to the memories they stirred.
Geneseo, Mineral and Princeton—
the story played out everywhere.
This I knew. I checked the oil
tires and gas before I started.
my car
a vessel for life
as it passes
We sat at the edge of the river for an hour
Holding our spot with a flimsy blanket
Some bought pillows, children were sleeping
Though strangers, we nodded to each other
On fireworks day, we are all united, all friends
The ship was as beautiful as I had imagined
Moreso, if I am to be honest, with red lights
A clipper ship with red lights, I was entranced
The crowd appeared to be mesmerized
I looked at my new neighbor to the left; he looked thunderstruck
We did not meet each other’s eyes; we were in love
In love with a clipper ship whose sails were blood red
The night went from magical to mystical
A loud streaming screaming something went up behind the ship
Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pink fireworks exploded behind the red sails
And I had thought the night could not have been more ethereal
Easter bunny sent his eldest to me to brag
Her name was Charlene, she had one small snag
I created this wreath but I have a problem too
The back keeps slipping, so we added glue
I flipped it over and helped her fix the wreath
She was so grateful, she grinned with a whole set of teeth
So, your name is Charlene, I said. She nodded her head.
What’s your Daddy doing these days? He’s probably in bed.
_Scene: The motel car park_
Highlife spills from the bar,
Like beer from a full tumbler,
Fifty meters away.
Laughter. Glass. Night thick with sweat.
"Ten to seven," Oseh said.
"Twenty-three girls now."
"Oldest twenty-five. Youngest eighteen."
Felix nodded, like an agama
That had sighted a cockroach.
"We need thirty."
"Some are still undecided," Oseh said.
"I'll come see them," Felix gave reply.
"They're well-protected on this journey."
Die-hard girls can encourage them?
Who are die-hard girls?
Darkness' a gardener gathering dry grasses.
The count continued.
In the town of Grotzinger there was only one shoemaker left
Old Hanz was known as H to those with long memories of life here.
We rarely ordered custom shoes and boots these days
But we still stopped by for his stories when he was working
what is that? I asked him once upon a time when I was eight.
He explained industrial pliers, cutters, and the cobbler tool kit
Interspersing hilarious stories as he pounded, stretched and sewed
He was happily surrounded by wooden soles and leather heels
It smells in there, I told my Daddy. He nodded because he remembered.
That’s a combination of tobacco, leather, smoke, and H himself.
H had made all of Daddy’s shoes when he was a child.
Made his wedding shoes too. Daddy never wore boots
I made my way to the workshop this morning.
Wondered if it was too early, but H was there.
He was not open yet, but he nodded me in through the window.
His stories were as outrageous and clever as usual; I was home.
who is holding these animals up? Someone asked me.
we were at a six-ring circus, but too far away to see.
The elephant was on the top, which looked rather odd.
heavy hippo holding him gave me a rare nod.
I nodded back and caught a weird ugly smile
From the next joker down, a grisly green crocodile.
Under him was a spoon-billed pelican with beady black eyes.
A super mouse was holding them all up, a huge surprise!
Will this too pass by?
I said to heath fire's glow,
watching sparks ascend—
The embers nodded match heads,
settling within ashen hoard.
Across from the flames,
a lone mirror held the room—
table, chair, and hearth.
Yet something was missing there:
Dyes cast and flouted, not seized.
The hollow chair's dent
still held the impression of
opportunities—
Once ripe for the plucking, gone
left to wither; passed on by.
the surgeon cut me open,
he took a step back, in awe, frozen
the surgeon mumbled with a astonished look
“wow…this is perfect, i mean…absolutely textbook”
the room filled with doctors nodded in agreement
my spirit watching from above felt seen,
as if it was some kind of achievement
that statement resonated with my soul
it stitched every broken part of me whole
it felt like the kind of love i’ve yearned for
as all eyes were on me like fine art hung carefully in a museum,
and i hovered above weightless filled with freedom,
i finally felt fulfilled, despite the source
all while looking at my half alive corpse
this tangerine stone had a talismanic quality to it that greeted me
there was nothing super special about it on presentation
yet the minute I saw it, I felt a sacred kinship to it
this was not a gemstone, polished and primped for a showroom
This beauty was discovered by me, in my country realm
amid other stones in a hidden brook that makes tiny bubbles
I did not realize she was an amber until I had a rock hound take a peek
you have found yourself a piece of unblemished, virgin amber, he told me
He offered me money for it.
We had already bonded.
It would have been easier to sell my children.
She speaks to me, I am keeping her, I told him.
He nodded, understanding, which I knew he would.
I was minding my own business one day,
sipping coffee, scrolling calmly,
feeling young enough to outrun time
and maybe even sassing it a little.
Then~
without warning,
without paperwork,
without even the courtesy of a calendar alert~
age leapt out from behind a houseplant,
tapped me on the shoulder,
and whispered,
“Surprise… you’re the same age as old people now.”
I gasped
then glanced around.
There must be some mistake.
They must’ve meant someone creakier, crankier,
someone who voluntarily discusses fiber.
But no~
the mirror nodded,
my knees filed a complaint,
and my back muttered,
“I was expecting you.”
And that’s how it happened:
one quiet day,
one innocent moment,
and suddenly~
I was my own timeline punchline.
I was minding my own business~
the next thing I know
I’m the same age as old people.
EEGADS!
I have never heard of such a thing I told my brother.
Don’t tease her any more warned my sainted mother.
Dad jumped on her side and said, oh yes Halloween ducks do exist.
This did not surprise me, he is always the side of my little sis.
Where is this Halloween duck? I asked. Will I find him on the pond?
The liars looked at each other and nodded. They have a total bond.
I ran down there and looked over at something weird looking at me.
It was a Halloween duck, swimming wild and free.
frog with a pipe you are so dapper and put together
We like seeing you jumping cattails in this inclement weather
unsure why you insist on always wearing clothes though
other frogs make fun of you where ever you go
I am not out to impress them, the pipe-loving-frog said
My true love is Evilita, she lives behind that green shed.
You mean the garden snake? I asked, scared for the frog.
He nodded. I am going to invite her to meet me down by the bog.
She came to the senior once-a-month lunch.
From a lovely bench at the table head,
she nodded to all with a faintest smile
not having attended the past few times.
For many years, the special bench for two
was this dear couple's honored place to sit.
He passed away three months ago, now it
lies chilled from lack of warmth and her sad heart.
they told the old hag to wear colors that night
a former butterfly, she did so, in fright
the coven of witches intimidated her with winks
she wore blues, greens, oranges, yellows and pinks
She looks like a butterfly! A younger witch said.
She used to be one, another replied, shaking her head.
The old hag nodded to the young one, who understood
Then she flew off through the forest, to land on some wood.
Hoping to be changed back to herself before spring
She heard a familiar’s bell behind her going ting-ting.
Sorry said the cat, but you need to return right away.
They want to ask you some questions, and they do not play.
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