from Moss
 
 
we name a plant and ourselves two
literal Laurels and a metaphorical
other, not literally after an animal, but
tenderly catcall to our deer or piggy
 
the crooked birds
peck at cracks
stare and caw at us
so crow feathers
appear everywhere
 
if we are hired to drive an ice cream truck
and called in sick
then we were busy replacing dog barks
with a less tired symbol
 
we consider young squirrel scamper
from rose clumps
in an old growth London Plane Tree awe
walk in the park
 
the moss and lichen
branch caught in sun
crossover frames us


Michael Rerick