The Cat-Killed Pigeon
D.S. Maolalai

spring the sick wind
and wilting wildflowers—
birds debased
with song and ashen leaves,
and spiders
pulling their fat bodies
over bookshelves,
silver webs
and sticking them
with their prey.

this is the day, as seen
from the chair beside my window;
slick with black murder
pulling the feathers
off a cat-killed pigeon
and an old man
obese, groaning under cider
and slices of toast.

life is a mangy animal,
cussing the road up
with split bags of groceries,
flat on the ground.

spitting out teeth like smashed kitchen tiling,
pieces of clocks
and rocking horses
and shoelaces
tied until they snap.


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