Cold Exit

Robin is as robin does, takes a gander 

about and follows instincts,  digs in the dirt 

for worms, finds a mate and they build a nest

together. You get the twigs and I’ll bind them 

together with my spit. You sure this is a good tree?

Have some chicks and feed them, deliver

worms the best you can. If some miss out, then

that’s ok, there’s only so much time

in a day and if you’re fat brother is eating

them all, dear one, I can’t help you. I can’t.

Nudge them out of the nest and fly 

they will, if well fed and able to take 

the risk, survive and find more worms,

build a bridge to the next rotation.

Repair the nest, find more worms, keep on.

Moose is as moose does, eats and eats

grows and grows, until the snow melts 

and the ground thaws. One morning, dig a trench 

and pee into it all day long. Roll around and cover

yourself as you get testy, brave and strong.

Pick a fight and show you’re cruel, saucy and

wild, feverish, as you’re meant to be.

If you win, then good on you, moosish done well

kid. Find a babe and get it on, then take it slow and

Find some time to rest, guide the young.

If you got beat in the mashing, gnarled and

torn you are, bloody and ashamed, go back

and find some solace in the warm sun, be a

true moose and go to your lonely spot, repair

the hurt and forsake thee of undone tasks for now.

Human is as human does, unmoored and 

afraid, roots lost in the messy replanting. See

how you unfold now, make it up as you see fit.

Envision strength, though your skin is quite

thin, papier maché and glue, comes apart quick.

Love and be loved your only goal, though you 

might find a dearth of butter in your pan. The heat 

of the day melds you, unable to breathe, you lift and 

lift hard, it’s not enough. You got stuck, they say, yet 

the kneading was naught, broken and undone.

Take a seat for the show, you do, and settle in only

to find your ticket has been soiled and torn, illegible, 

thus not valid. If only you’d had it laminated, it was 

not foreseen. The show is unfolding now but you’re being

ushered out to find the exit and disappear into the cold.