In a Kingdom of Little Gusts and I Want Out

Our cat leapt upon the young garter snake.

I had to pick up a brick to crush what would

not die. A perfectly shaped head with eyes,

crisp against a plantain leaf, slowly moving

from side to side, with more apparent grace

and beauty than I have ever managed, even

when I was young and filled with baby deer.

The next thing I saw was me pushing down

the brick. I used a rake to lift the green string

into the wild mint growing beside the patio.

I'm telling you this because later the stars

shone in great profusion

, and I could feel -

as I can the spine down my back - the cold

expanse of nothing between each of those

specks. Silly lights. This morning I thwack

a spider on the ceiling. It falls behind a print

of a Mayan king lifting the god of lightning.

I crush the spider and say to you,

It must be

autumn because now I kill one or two things

every day.

And you say to me nothing.

You put down your yam, walk to me,

and lift your arms around these shoulders

shaking like the fierce heart of a rabbit.