slender, coltish,
playful red and white
like little collies
a pair in the woods
on the island
have mated
and now
there are five
One of our cats
is older, wilier
but the other
is a trusting
friendly paw-shaker
who may discover
just how unsporting
cute friendly
wild foxes
can be.
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Uncomfortable
Listen to a joke in Czech
or Serb
and wonder
if you should laugh
at the end
or ruin the mood
Walk alone into
a party of couples
and stay alone
semi drunk
all night
Sit in a loud party
unable to hear
anything but noise
and the calendar flipping
Listen to a friend
raving about Wal-Mart
or some other institution
you think is seditious
and say nothing
Listen to a Baptist
Jihadist
talk about
family values
and nod slowly
while keeping
a fixed smile
Express your views
to a lamp post
while waiting
for the bus home
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sine wave
There is a pulse that runs
from day to day
through eyes and skies
and determines
whether crows gather overhead
to pluck out eyes
or just to turn the pages
of the calendar
One day we sing and smile
the next gasp as the earth
collapses beneath us
or a flood sweeps all
toward the pit
except the crows
calling instructions overhead
moves of the chess pieces
in the great throbbing game
The piston of the world
shoves in pulls out
dragging its orbit
closer to the inevitable
conflagration
if we can
we shall spin off
in time
and leave those
birds
to play above
the pulsing sun
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