Читать книгу Popular Longing - Natalie Shapero - Страница 15

Magpie

Unusual rain of late, and a new weed

that resembles concertina wire

is threading itself through the dirt.

Seeing it makes me think of never seeing it again,

how I will miss this upstart greenness

after I lose it all and am thrown

from this home, which will be soon.

It’ll be someone else living here then, hiding

an emergency key in a bucket,

up late snaking the bath drain or early

doing sit-ups on the painted floor.

It’ll be someone else walking a mile and a half

to the store called Magpie, buying

a gift for whichever friend’s baby, rattle

or small shirt with a transit map.

The name is meant to conjure up a gorgeous, inky

creature culling treasures to bring

back, but if you really get close

to a magpie’s nest, you see it’s all trash.