- Field Lesson, and: The Unavoidable Pigeon
Field Lesson
A tractor tills the soil using heavy blades, while nine mice turn in their autumnal nest.
Nine blind mice. I counted them, then covered them with a layer of hay. What can I help
that I am a simple child? The world has shown me its lessons: here, here, and here.
Lambs in the field. Chops on the plate. Knives dismantling the hills deer by deer
after the gun goes bang. And there is so much more to learn. The John Deere tumbles down the field.
Behind it, a dust cloud rises. Nine blind mice meet their nine blind ghosts. Tossed
from this world like salt over the shoulder. The things we kiss good-bye make room for all we kiss hello. [End Page 569]
The Unavoidable Pigeon
I see it on Cabrillo, midway through the crosswalk. Some people spot an injured pigeon toppling down the street and think,
Good riddance. But how can I think that? I know this bird. I’ve seen it before. Balboa. Anza. Clement. Its wounded
foot lifted high into its feathered body. No, I will never take this bird home. I root for it in other ways. What a survivor!
I pass it on the way to the post office, parading like a governor in a bright patch of sun. Don’t worry. This bird
will never break my heart. Not right now. Not tomorrow. Not next week when I find it hammered to the road. Poor bird.
A ruptured viola. All of its red strings pulled out of it. Even with big dreams, a pigeon can only survive so long
on these streets. Had it asked me, had it been a reasonable being, I would have warned it to stick to the sky. [End Page 570]
kristen tracy has written numerous novels for young readers, including Lost It, Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus, and Project (Un)Popular. Her poems have appeared in The Threepenny Review, TriQuarterly, and Prairie Schooner. Her book Half-Hazard was chosen by the Poetry Foundation for the Emily Dickinson First Book Award and is forthcoming from Graywolf Press.