Paying Attention
J.I. Kleinberg
A crow in a bad mood
with a sore throat
hopped and squawked
around the open skylight
above my bed until I woke
fully, then left. Is it too late
to learn to sing? You never
use exclamation points,
your seriousness an engine
that shifts lower and lower
until it is nearly inaudible,
the color of silence. I cannot
claim to understand orchids
but a single weekly ice cube
has inspired a third season
of magenta blooms. Is it
too late for abandon?
The crow circles, alarming.
Artist, poet and freelance writer J.I. Kleinberg is a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee. Her poetry has appeared in December, One, Diagram, Otoliths, Pedestal, Psaltery & Lyre and elsewhere. She lives in Bellingham, Washington, and posts frequently at chocolateisaverb.wordpress.com and thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com.
