Trojan Poetry 75: white dove—found outside Don Teriyaki’s by Juan Felipe Herrera

PBS NewsHour Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iykpWev3NLY&t=166s


white dove—found outside Don Teriyaki’s
by Juan Felipe Herrera

On
Cedar & Herndon going nowhere brought her home
bought her seeds a rabbit cage & carried her out
everyday & let her fly in the room next to my bedroom
I was concerned about her—I asked myself
what can I do
she is not happy she is not free she dances when
I take the cage outside & set it on the angular table
in the breezeway then the sun waves through
and the trees sway before noon when the sister doves
Blue Jays call & peck at the seeds she spills
she steps to one side to the other and back
and forth she peers at me through the wires
I take her in
she purrs she calls—if I release her she is going to
stumble then Jack Hawk will shred her so
I’ll keep her in the cage—I tell myself

http://bostonreview.net/poetry/national-poetry-month-2015-juan-felipe-herrera-five-poems