the parakeet ...
throughout the night
the bird
in the back room
conjugates
the moans and groans
the whoops and whistles
of some overheard
climactic copulation ...
a parakeet
she brought back
from Africa
its feathers
a coral blue
and mottled grey
and its sharp beak
the brightest orange
and should i happen to walk by
its black eyes
look right through me
as if it knows
something
that i don't
something about
the corpses
of past lovers
that she keeps
beneath its cage
in a cardboard box
that is quickly
filling up with shit
the bird
in the back room
conjugates
the moans and groans
the whoops and whistles
of some overheard
climactic copulation ...
a parakeet
she brought back
from Africa
its feathers
a coral blue
and mottled grey
and its sharp beak
the brightest orange
and should i happen to walk by
its black eyes
look right through me
as if it knows
something
that i don't
something about
the corpses
of past lovers
that she keeps
beneath its cage
in a cardboard box
that is quickly
filling up with shit
