Fable for Blackboard

Here is the grackle, people.
Here is the fox, folks.
The grackle sits into the bracken. The fox
        hopes.

Here are the fronds, friends,
that cover the fox.
The fronds get in a frenzy. The grackle
        looks.

Here are the ticks, tykes,
that live in the leaves, loves.
The fox is confounded,
and God is above.

This poem is from The Argot Merchant Disaster: Poems New and Selected by George Starbuck (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1982). George Starbuck (1931-1996) won the Yale Younger Poets’ Award in 1960 and published seven books during his lifetime. He was a beloved teacher to many poets during his career at the University of Iowa, Boston University, SUNY Buffalo, and the University of Alabama.
*Photo courtesy of xcentris.
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