We pulled you from the ageless darkand embraced your bones in plaster—a hasty sacrament to noteyour restoration to the world of light.Now you stand in tribute to your kind:a breathless monument of when you lived.I hope you had some peace, a sip of cool,dark water before your hooves got stuck.You must have panicked, alerting wolvesto…
Tag: Animals
The Few Who Eat Us
Who could fail to admirethose few who eat uswithout compunction? Great whites rip with serrated teethand call others inwith your hemosignal. Tigers when you are sweating and swatting in the banded shadowswill crush your throat. Crocodiles will bite then twisttheir whole body roundto strip you clean. Most admirable of all are polar bearsnearly invisible in…
The Death of the Motherless Kitten
I saw it from across the road, while waiting for the green man. It was mewling for its mother. Lost, I thought. Everybody, in their suits and ties and pencil skirts, turned to look, but they never slowed their strides. A mother and child might have stopped for a few seconds, passingly interested. I probably…
An Instance of the Scientific Method
Find a pot of nail varnish: “ConfidentCoral”, by Jessica, perhaps. Fetchthe stainless steel nail scissors and walkbeneath the flying March shadows. Lie on the grass; adjust your scaleof focus to the miniscule. The cat, hull-downamong the crocuses, observes with mildinterest. Select and mark your snail. A scarlet shell-top will allow no laterconfusion of identity. Now…
The Inhabited Shell
In display tanks lit an impossible blue, divers give tentative thumbs-up,dogfish are stroked and fed.On the bench, a couple hissing in Italian,cast their tanned arms again and again into the gloom.Suddenly, a gasp of English –What do you want?That.She spits and points at my heavy bump,then rises, heels treacherous on the stairs.He whispers an apology…
Hampshire Saddleback
When he was done arguing he went to the barn, he had a wrenchcrooked under his left arm.(He’d been fixing the tractorbefore the fight began).The sow shuffled, idle in her stall.He paused a moment, he put his wife’sface on the sow and the sow’sface on his wife.When he was done beatinghe scooped the sausage meat…
The Points of the Kite
The points of the kite tilt to the groundTurn and turn, air supports and thenNeglectsAllows a collapse before collectingUp the wings and fragile framework, again.Tethered, it must land, it must returnWe watch, a small crowdSmoking cadged fags, mouths full of cheap ciderSwigged back, heads tipped up, Eyes narrowed, watching a sky the colour of washing…
Two Seasons of Crashing
I was pacing the edge of town until the househad gone to bed so I could get on the couchand not look at anybody. I hid from the rainbeneath the awning of the rug emporium. A sparrow flew into one of the display windows and then flew into the otherdisplay window and then into the…
What We Could Not Save
A chick had fallen out of a branchonto the pavement: wrinkled, purplebody no longer than the palm of my hand. It had stubby knobs instead of wings, a blue film over the eyes, no feathersto speak of. I didn’t know birds were born naked as we are. A group of us kids gathered around, and…
Living Under Water
You are very deep in an ocean. If you swimyou can live a full lifewhile drowning. You will get marriedto a bottlenose dolphinand wear a coral ring. You will give birthto yourself,but it will be so tinythat you lose itin the water. Your love will die firstand you will be alone.You are a brave little…