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MOOSE IN SNOW
A moose is born, his legs
unfold and wobble
beneath the weight of himself.
He grows, roams the fields, his antlers
sprout into empty hands.
Then the sky drops
snow, a meadow
fills with whiteness
the moose trudges through,
his breath in the Montana air
cobwebbing. A man
raises his camera
and the moose materializes
in the blood light of his darkroom.
A painter finds the photo
and squeezes out
titanium white, burnt umber,
works the brushes until
he has the snow-stippled coat
just right, and the visible eye
looks like the night
standing behind a peephole.
There are reproductions, rollers
spin in a print shop
and it's moose moose moose
descending on itself. One man
buys one, hangs it
with a frame in his sunny office
where his patients come
troubled, medicated, and I
explain to him this heaviness
pulling down the length
of my body, scalp
to soles, cells and all.
--David Hernandez
Copyright © 2011 by Oberlin College.
May not be reproduced without permission.
FOUR LITTLE CONVERSATIONS
What's in that pot? Lamb stew with carrots and potatoes. What's in that other pot? That other pot is empty. And this one here? And that one there? Empty, empty. And what's in the refrigerator? Perishables. Perishables? Things that wilt and die. And what's in the drawer? The knives I use to slice the perishables.
Is it bleeding? It's just a little cut. Is it bleeding bad? No, not really. I just nicked myself with the knife. You should hold it under cold water. You should cover it in gauze or paper towel. Do you have any alcohol? Do you have any Neosporin cream? You should wrap a sheet around it. You should tie it off at the joint so the bleeding stops.
Thank you Lord for this food we're about to eat. Has the bleeding stopped? And thank you Lord for our friends who love us. I can see a little spot there, on the gauze. And thank you, also, for the many kindnesses of the day. It's like a lamb's red eye opening. It's like a perishable unfolding its petals. You'll scare the children.
It was a very good stew. Thank you. Is there more? No. And how is your cut? The bleeding's stopped. And the knife? Safe in its drawer. And the perishables? Asleep in the crispers. And the perishables? All tucked away in the crispers. And the perishables? They are dreaming and happy. And the children? As I said, they're asleep.
--Kevin Prufer
Copyright © 2011 by Oberlin College.
May not be reproduced without permission.
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