graffiti on a highway
noise barrier
on closer inspection
I discover sketches of treehouses
that thrill then
fill me with dread
wooden planks affixed to a trunk
become my first definition
of cannibalism

a soft rocker that lights up
after dark becomes
a lost bunny ear begging
for its twin
to complete the rhyme
to keep a little boy
named Leo
from tripping over
untied shoe laces

that rusty nail
the blood
the tetanus shot
another fear is born
whose mine my sister’s
the facts blur and bleed
into a new truth
bark is much prettier
than this creation myth

we move onto a game
of rock + paper + scissors
to see which bacteria
will win this week
paper cuts sting as they leave
thin red lines
on our fingertips
as we thumb through a field guide
to advanced birding

an app would be safer
and so much
would not translate

even ferryboats have rope
wrapping around iron
as they break through ice

why would
anyone want
to willingly shoot
a soaring crane
and deprive the sky
of its quiet
dialogue with
the mountains
and the wind