unbirth

unbirth

a
yellow steel cage

rolls
by at sunset

sharp
white tractor beams

light the slow advance

of
an inevitable machine

turning
under corn

left
over winter

most
of what came up

that
dry season

never
made market

some
was cut for feed

the
rest left standing

for
deer and birdsong

in
this quiet valleyonce green leaves

needed
summer rain

but
autumn winds

rustled
thin gold shafts

and
late in December

buck
and doe

scratched
for food
among grey-yellow stalks

the
verdict

carried
out tonight

in
a mechanical rumble

I
hear the final rattle

of
life not appreciated

*

Words and image by Tullio DeSantis, 2012.

*