Cold Valley

The fog
shades
a smooth
stone bust
 
then slips
into rain
 
my mind is
well suited
onyx
shining edges
 
the reflection
itself
 
*
 
Traces of
mist
 
on an old
window
 
*
 
The best part
is grinding
the ink down
endlessly, filling
my brush
 
grey morning
 
I first feel
the mind
as reflex
 
*

Bright and clear
 
The end of Evergreen road
is closed and crumbling away
 
Bill McNeil’s red poppy
resolves to be eaten alive
exposed to a shaft of air
 
between the flower and its flat glass-
masterful
 
*
 
The black bleeds out
from his beak
 
in long tears, ink onto
sopping head feathers
slicked back
 
black stiches on yellow
powdered eyes aglow
 
white speckles
          thrown onto autumn
                       breast feathers
 
a white field
                   below
 

Copyright Credit: Cedar Sigo, "Cold Valley." Copyright © 2019 by Cedar Sigo. Used by permission of the author for PoetryNow.
Source: PoetryNow (2019)