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NIKKI GIOVANNI War Is Never Right For some reason Or perhaps None The dew was just lifting Which is not unreasonable But something for no reason Made me walk In my house slippers To the little dogwood tree Recently planted By the shed As I watered the tree And, frankly, took joy In the grass coming up Where I had tried for several years to no avail to grow this little spot of green I spotted a furry thing Without thinking I turned the hose on it Assuming it was a mushroom Or some of the mold That occasionally forms On top of the mulch I know there could not Have been a scream because 44 ✦ NIKKI GIOVANNI Screams aren’t possible For little birds But there was a protest My heart broke This little robin was out of the nest Before she could fly And I live with a Yorkie Who was sniffing the yard I grabbed the dog Taking her back inside And returned To understand This little bird would die The mother was overhead now And I put the bird in a basket To take her beyond the reach Of Alex though surely Into the paw Of one of the cats that roam Some will say: It’s Mother Nature’s way Some will say: It’s Natural Some will say: It is out of your hands There is Nothing you can do about it But it still breaks my heart To know that little robin Cannot be saved NIKKI GIOVANNI ✦ 45 ...

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