No Holier Book
by Steve Toth
In the morning I hear a riot of crows
& pull back the curtain to see
an orange cat crouching low
on my neighbor's driveway
while above it sitting on power lines
eleven crows declare their strong opposition
to such objectionable company
Once the orange cat goes
the crows can resume
dropping walnuts on the pavement
to crack their shells open
Later walking above the ocean
we spot two crows
sitting on a log
& another much larger bird
standing nearby with a head
that looks too small for its body
As it spreads its wings & takes the air
we recognize it as a turkey vulture
The two crows make not a move to flee
as we pass noticing that the log
is really a dead sea lion
There's no holier book than nature itself
because nature is so alive
no death can finish its work
& because it's closer to the original source
of creation than anything
described by language
& because it starts all over
with every new life
volume 11(6)
This poem is copyright © 2007,
Steve Toth, all rights reserved.
Find more poems by Steve Toth.
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