Hilary Sallick
why are some poets boring? or
the nature of the dove
1.
in the subway station
a pigeon on the platform
finding something
seizes it up as it can
with that quick jerky motion
tosses it back and down
its gullet
bits fly off to the hard floor
the pigeon follows where they go
and in the poetry reading
I was aware
that the author despite
her effort and skill left me
cold on the outside
as if the words she was speaking
were less than essential
the pigeon isn’t flying exploring
up and down or trying
to find a way out
but walking as they do head bobbing
and stopping to peck
and peck then
moving to another spot
oh the sadness of boredom
2.
I spent some minutes this morning watching
a mourning dove cousin
to the pigeon or rock dove
I watched it there in my backyard
so my spirit lifted to see close up
the fineness of its slightly
curved bill the precision of gold
rimming each eye the still-perfect
red toes the lush silver
of its plumage
it stood there pecking the dirt
then bent its legs to settle into
a resting pose
what is it to sit here
trying to describe
what I see
preening my feathers the wings
of my mind the down and
the colors
to comb them over and over
Hilary Sallick is a poet and teacher in Somerville, MA. Her work is grounded in curiosity and observation—the search for deepening attention—through the creative processes of writing and reading. She has two full-length poetry collections, "Love Is a Shore" (Lily Poetry Books, 2023), long-listed for the Massachusetts Book Award, and "Asking the Form" (Cervena Barva Press, 2020); and a chapbook, "Winter Roses" (Finishing Line Press, 2017). Her poems can be found in Potomac Review, Notre Dame Review, Permafrost, Ibbetson Street, The Inflectionist Review, Vita Poetica, January House, SoFloPoJo, Poetry Porch, Constellations, and elsewhere. www.hilarysallick.com.