Ars Poetica
I keep rifles in the front closet.
Trespassing can be a glance.
A good shot,
I practice with bottles, bull's eyes.
I cross the line where the fence breaks,
where the wood falls in unintended directions,
and prepare an offensive
before any repair.
I know the value of my property.
Ungloved, I place the barbed wire.
Copyright Credit: Vievee Francis, "Ars Poetica" from Horse in the Dark. Copyright © 2012 by Vievee Francis. Reprinted by permission of Northwestern University Press.
Source: Horse in the Dark, 2012