There is a conspiracy afoot
I feel it
The red-tailed hawks and mourning doves
Perch together beneath darkening skies
Rabbit ears twitch a secret signal
Received in a bobcat’s slow wink
Hieroglyphs mark the deer trail
Left by porcupine quills dipped in ink
The red squirrel refusing to translate
Their bleak insinuations
A rainbow trout breaks the glimmerglass
Drawing into itself some dark message
Black as the quiet crows
Turkey vultures tip their wings toward
A corpse in the middle pasture
East of the barbed-wire brook
Where snappers lie
The oaks and maples grip the earth
Certain of an apocalyptic wind
A flag in the shape of a properly registered gun
Is pointed at my back
Fear scrambles beneath layers of questions
Doubt raises a shaking hand:
Isn’t fear a chemical weapon?
I collapse from it all
A red line pierces my skull
There is nothing renewable under the sun
-- William Gnade, 9.5.13
3 comments:
I dedect a rather pessimistic tone in this one, and you're probably right. On the positive side, it also reminds me of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
I detect it, too.
Milton!
So good to hear from you. I pray all is well.
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