CENTURY SICKNESS (2022, Edition of 1)
Original poem written by David Hernandez and interpreted by Artsychaut (Kim Siew), a Mauritian artists fond of visual and written art. Member of the Cyberbaat DAO.
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CENTURY SICKNESS
In the iron light of autumn, a crow
headed east over Stearns Avenue,
at the height of phone lines, in the quiet
of early morning. Hush, hush, hush,
its wings repeated, the blue-black wings,
as the crow held between its clamped beak a sparrow, slack as an empty glove.
Another sparrow followed, frantic as it dove and dove, driving its smaller beak
into the crow’s back, which didn’t do a thing but make some meager thumps.
Across the street my neighbor
paused, her face masked, lifted to sky.
I watched her watching them go
until she raised a hand to me, waving slowly.