Waste & Want

 

 

These chickens are easy

to forget. They peck

the feeder clean.

I’ve tried so many ways

to save things. Children

starve as I clear

the refrigerator of near-spoil.

Something about chicken feed

makes me uneasy: efficient

little pellets, extruded, consistent,

complete. The cat bats

flies puzzling the window,

does not eat them.

Hens have a habit

of pecking through grains

to get what they want.

The cat wants the kill.

I want these shelves

so stark they shine.