think like that
no like that
sniff around a burrow
don’t hunt birds
think like this
no like this
raccoons yes groundhogs
yes opossum definitely yes
think for yourself
no not like that
not the robin though
nor the house sparrow
here give me the controller
let me have a go at it
nor the half dozen finches
gathered near the volkswagen
put your hands up
don’t move a muscle.
A cruel word at eventide and night zips up like a spider's retreat. Go back to your febrile needlework. We shall not be chasing lightning bugs in the tall grass tonight. Put the whiskey on the shelf and let us speak calmly of money.
Source: Kleinzahler, August. Live from the Hong Kong Nile Club: Poems : 1975-1990. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. Print. Page 34.
The peace lily speaks
without an obligation to listen.