In the Woods

In the Woods

Detritus pitched every which-

way, dark rot and loam laid

bare. Troubled patches

everywhere along the path. 

This is wild turkeys’ work.

Tossing leaf cover aside,

grubbing around like a rush

of lady shoppers at a sale bin.

Dog has no curiosity about

turkey scratch. Instead she

inspects tall weed or grass

(top to bottom) with her

omnipotent nose, quivering

moist planet of  jet beads.

Being thorough, she re-sniffs

(bottom to top) with dainty

precision for traces of the four-

footed. Deer, fox, raccoon,

rabbit. Bobcat. Bear. Coyote.

I dodge a scat pile   or two,

dreading most the coyote’s

tarry rope, clotted with bones

and fur, the final turd’s wispy

flourish   a killer’s last word.

Cathy Larson Sky 

April 04, 2020

PHOTO CREDITS:  

Scratch: National Wild Turkey Federation

Dog in woods: Cathy Larson Sky

Coyote scat: 2013 Kim A. Cabrera

Volunteer
                
Nobody planted her

a bird shit out a peach pit

while stealing holly berries

and this maverick

poked her head out

from the holly bush

two springs ago

I had the shears ready

but couldn’t cut

beguiled by the deep fresh

pink of her blossoms

   riotous pink

and so early coming

I left her there  

Last summer I asked

the Mexican yard man

to take her down

but he said he couldn’t

   held up one branch

its leafy underbelly
heavy with pale

fruit pods

that in August

ripened   their

perfume drifting
on the air  ambrosial

the peaches  small

and blushing

their white fruit

three bites of
heaven

Now she springs back

   her ravishing blooms

shame the pest-weary

weeping cherry

and the old apple 

tree who

couldn’t muster

this year and cringes

under a scourge of lichen 

pix and poem copyright Cathy Larson Sky 03/29/2020