Buzzards Buzzards Everywhere

CRAIG KINNEY

March 19, 2020

Maitre d’s of the dead,

black stars in blue infinity, 

swallows of Santa Rita,

returning annually 

to snack on death,

to remind us of mortality,

to roost in the trees

next to our house.

I’d shoo them away

but the way they droop

their red prune heads,

between hunched shoulders,

while bouncing on branches,

it’s endearing. Even darkness

has its beauty. Why would I

shoo away beauty?

CRAIG KINNEY is, by trade, an architect living in San Angelo, Texas with his wife Susan.  He is trying to wash his hands frequently.