We peeked, each of us with one bare toe
Squeezed into a knothole,
Glad to trade the pain for another look.
We couldn't see any trees back there,
Just a concrete patio blotched with dirt, and
Blood, and in the far corner
Heavy wooden crates, bound with baling wire.
Full of rabbits, hundreds of them,
All young ones, hiding in the shadows.
Over their heads a sheet of crinkled metal
Stretched across the neighbor's yard.
Underneath, lined up against
The back fence were ten silver buckets.
Catching the steady drips from where
They hung, above, with their necks wrung out.
This is a poem that has been published, Sunrust magazine, many years ago.
It was greatly improved after a workshop with poet David Wagoner at Squaw Valley.
A further collection of poems, many from years in the Middle East, but also the California San Francisco and Central Coast areas (Santa Cruz, Carmel, Big Sur, Berkeley, etc.).
Vivid imagery here, so sad, sad, sad about how the rabbits were treated.
Many blessings,
~Linda
Be always safe,
Karen