Playing Chicken
She nests in a sprawling tulip poplar
on a street of rental properties,
fast cars and fire crackers
peopled by many colors and tongues.
She scolds me
if the dogs and I venture too closely.
Yet I anticipate her dashes for acorns,
pine cones, pizza crusts and potato chips.
An adept tightrope arialist,
she escapes neighborhood cats
by zipping across power lines.
Watch her run, she hypnotizes—
contracting, expanding
as that bad-hair-day tail flexes
at every stride.
She has become bolder
perhaps knowing my dogs and I
pose no threat. These days
she brazenly watches us cross her path,
trespass on her domain,
our gazes locked in a daily stand-off.
Since we keep moving
avoiding confrontation or chase
I suspect she thinks
she’s won.
New Englander by birth, Kentuckian by choice! My undergrad and graduate studies were at the Ohio State University, then I went and pursued a fun degree in in Fashion Design & Clothing Construction. My original designs (clothing and accessories) are available at The Bazaar, a juried portion of The Lexington Rescue Mission Thrift Store at Limestone & Louden in Lexington, KY. I have had poetry, creative non-fiction and flash fiction published and won multiple awards including one from the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. In addition to my writing and creating wearable art, I’m a watercolor and a fiber artist. Many of my contemporary tapestries include yarn I have spun myself.
qarrtsiluni 