1 poem

by Eric Dovigi

Elk-Jerky No. 1 

O! the wonder of the sometimes-there firecow!
            sister of thundergoat! bride of the red hat!
            extinguisher of brush flames on wheat tops,
            knower of grass and herb, bearer of calves.
            O the sometimes wonder of the firecow! 

O! the harrowing desire of the kerosene-lamp!
bringer of sweetness and light, coveter of corners,
perambulator of shadows up narrow stairs,
            giver of tales to pre-electric childhoods,
           wonder of the homestead, marvel of the cabin,
           O! the strange desire of the kerosene-lamp!

O! the curious patience of the hummingbird!
            finder of pollens and spores,
            buzzer of pleasant decibels, drawer of ears,
            admirer of the common earthworm,
            I bow to you. 

This fatly stuffed globe, this great series of tower-tops lashed together and cobbled,
           (so that every inch of ground is a great height)
            this wonderful succession of sighs and colors,
            how good it is to rove to and fro here.
            This offered prize made a gift by the taking,
            let no one say they wish to die early.
            who curses the host?
who pulls up grass?

I saw a man in a yellow field eat a great bite out of a dried elk-flesh strip.
            He chewed, watching a cloud of starlings go somewhere.
            I thought about how good it was, after all, that he should eat elk.
            A bite out of something that ran, that was a castle of life,
            That ate other little things, that was born of a long line,
            That was part of the yellow of the yellow of the field.
            And this tiny man, a poor thing, not wise, shorter than wheat,
            Took a bite out of an elk.
            I think this is a good thing.
            It makes me a little less small, a little less foolish, to eat of elk. 

I’m filled up with the yellow of things, with this fatly-stuffed globe, which I love.