The experts all agree
you should not be here
swooping low across
the road in yet
another attack run
on woefully
ill-equipped prey. The mouse
freezes once your shadow
blots out its sun.
The chipmunk at best feigns
to dash off. The caught
squirrel still clutches,
mid-flight, the walnut
it had just unburied.
The odd pet, lost
or just out for a stroll
in the wild, turns to gaze
in the direction
of your beating wings,
glimpsing the start
of your dive down
toward a bloated form
that does not know
what is drawing near.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 24, Issue 5.
Nick Conrad’s poems continue to appear in national and international journals. His first book, Lake Erie Blues (8/20), appeared as part of Urban Farmhouse Press’ Crossroads Poetry Series. His podcast for the Windsor, CN based series All Write in Sin City aired 8/29/21.
See all items about Nick Conrad
