Bound Verse

Sixty Poems by D.W. Bohn
Arranged in Ten Sextets

Sextet I Sextet II Sextet III Sextet IV Sextet V Sextet VI Sextet VII Sextet VIII Sextet IX

Sextet X

amid birds

at the entrance to the harbor
where grooming ducks splash
and post-perched cormorants fan their wings
i am still
watching and listening

as a solitary gull calls
bending an eye towards mine
i allow myself to think
only for a moment
that one reason the birds of the sea
are so incredibly beautiful
is i so strongly want them to be

at the entrance to the harbor
where silent coots somehow manage
to swim and dive and surface
without noticeably rippling the placid water
i am still
watching and listening

unschooled

i
am
a fish
without a
school and
perhaps not quite
as careful about
where i swim
as i might
need to
be

walking

walking is suspect
decent people walk indoors
or after they've parked

reintroduction

keepers say the willingness to be penned is genetic
surely they prize a docile nature highly enough
to recognize its causes
and propagate its effects
in the wills of their charges
but no less than anyone else
their vision is colored by expectation
they predominately expect compliance
and routinely receive nothing but the same

only lately those few who have come
to specialize in reintroduction
have seen the offspring of animals
accustomed to periodic feedings
and severely constrained movements
thrive outside the zoo

what remains

let us eat heartily the flesh
of the beasts we've slaughtered
long past satisfaction
let us pause to gnaw
at the bones before heaving
them into the fire

for surely tomorrow
we happy survivors
will welcome the strength
to gather what remains
of our sturdy warriors
and bear them home

where i get off

simplicity place
this is where i get off pal
nice chatting with you


© 2002 by D.W. Bohn

Sextet I Sextet II Sextet III Sextet IV Sextet V Sextet VI Sextet VII Sextet VIII Sextet IX
D.W. Bohn's work also appears on the Fabrications site.

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