From the unpublished collection “Avatars from the Borderlands”.
It shall all be recorded
In the stark eye of the rooster
The teeming times
The apnea of the soul
The limb that wouldn’t move
The tear that froze
Relentless
It turns its naked neck
So that its shiny, round
Perfect eye
Can capture your
Lack of movement
The hibernation
Of the tongue
It won’t crow
Three times
It has better things to do
Than be your conscience keeper
Be fretful!
Don’t linger here
On the threshing floor
Go seek your kindred soul
That Totem Animal
Of yours that favors scales
On its eyes.
Pina Piccolo, 3 October 2020
Cover image: Rooster Eye_photo by Cecil Williams.