America 2023

Cutting from one point of view
to another, heaving aside
opinions in favor of other opinions…
where are your eagle, your raven,
your dove now, old friend?
All anyone can hear in this twilight
is an owl and it sounds like your name,
your butchered name being called.
This is how you get lost:
you give up every familiar being
in favor of a ghost call. You chase
hooting into darkness thinking
it’s an anthem and there will be a home
wherever you meet them but
all that’s there
is pine needled earth and a hole lined
with a flag to wrap around you for a shroud.
A flood is coming. Jump in
and save yourself. Maybe this time,
maybe in this vulture time,
water will not seek its lowest level.