A Bird in the Hand is Worth $1.50/HR.

Break the birds who
drown themselves by gaping
at the rain themselves who
drown the birds that break
the rain by gaping.

Bait the dog with feathers
beaks pecking dead the biting
dog with beak baits
the feathers the pecking dead.

Red from plucking we
small knuckles tuck in beneath bone
to scrape the carcass clean
small we tuck red carcass in
beneath too-clean knuckles
scraping from the plucking bones.

Over-breasted birds
walking turkey toppled over flocking
flopping when we call turkey-
breasted over flop we flock
when topple-walking over birds.

The porch worn bigger
than the sack of skin stuffed
and pinned across the body
cavity pinned bigger
than the sack of porch
stuffed with skin and worn
across the body.

We gabble who skin the points
the wings of wicked birds
skin the wicked
pointing gobble of we
who winged birds be.

Copyright © 2005 Anna Fulford All rights reserved
from Backwards City Review

Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission