From “Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return”
our first lightning
strike was convulsive
we felt sad for our
violence after
exterminating
wolves and bison
we do not need a
doctor to say
dance dance
dance before
the song
runs out
learn how
to live so
wilderness
never
becomes
mythology
we put them
in parks to be
wild on purpose
a museum of fur
fangs and hooves
Copyright © 2023 by CAConrad. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 29, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
“My poems are wild creatures standing on the bottom of the page, vibrating in the center of their bodies, and this one is from 72 new poems I began in Seattle during the Covid lockdown. I shared my meals with the crows by the window. One of them, in particular, liked to eat with me. I could hand it food and was eventually allowed to pet its beak. Soon enough, the crow started bringing me gifts: twigs, plastic bits, dried cat food, and a piece of gold foil. This experience was one of my favorite connections with a wild animal. This poem is from my forthcoming book, Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return (Wave Books, 2024).”
—CAConrad
CAConrad
