“
Now reading
Red Pigeons
Josh wakes each morning between 2 & 3,
won't go back to sleep.
For a few hours silence I'd sedate him
but Doctor Tate wants this ten-year-old
evaluated without meds. All night Josh draws
magic marker variations on his one theme:
I call him the Master of Red Pigeons.
Illuminated birds circle burning tenements
in each picture -in this one the street's
an orange line slashing towards homes
it never reaches: rowhouses rise
in multicolored flames, each blaze tilted
a different angle, everything wave & roll & ripple of fire
while smoke spirals up in little cyclones.
Just out of reach of the sparks
brilliant birds ride the updrafts,
outstretched wings reflecting fire.
Red pigeons: in drawing after drawing
children's faces stare from their windows
at these dazzling birds. Even the wooden fire escapes
he's added to the houses are burning.