The Widow
Two grey pigeons
are tangled together
with fishing line:
one of them is dead,
the other one alive.
They are wrapped
in a newspaper
being clutched
by an old woman
wearing a scarf
in the drizzle.
The live pigeon
is peeking out
of its paper hood.
The old woman stops
each person she passes
to ask for a knife.
She does not explain
what for but walks on,
her wet bundle
under her arm.
Structure
21 lines · 3 stanzas