All the small griefs, the petty slights, the imagined
worst things, he’s placed them each
in its own little cage, set them on stands & tables
throughout the house for their easy
company. Some perch on the swing, head cocked.
Some peck at the water dish & scratch
at the bad news lining the bottom. He enjoys how
they rustle their dark feathers at night.
Come morning you can only imagine, can’t you,
the glorious, dissonant dirges they sing.
Gerry LaFemina is the author of numerous books of poetry and fiction, the most recent of which are Vanishing Horizon (poems, 2011 Anhinga Press), Notes for the Novice Ventriloquist (prose poems, 2013 Mayapple Press) and Clamor (novel, 2013 Codorus Press). He directs the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing at Frostburg State University and divides his time between Maryland and New York.
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