today at school

we looked up

way up

on top

of the carved art pole

covered in languages

all saying one thing

‘peace’

   a hopeful sign

 the kinder

could not stop watching

this beautiful bird

as it flew up to the tree

and off into the sky. 

—

we may be losing the ability

to understand animals who are not pets or horses.

we have less contact with them.

we don’t (most of us) tend to know even cows or pigs,

let alone bears or wolverines or red tailed hawks. 

*-marge piercy

*Marge Piercy (1936) is an American poet, novelist, and social activist. Her work includes Woman on the Edge of Time; He, She and It, which won the 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award; and Gone to Soldiers, a New York Times Best Seller, a sweeping historical novel set during World War II. Piercy’s work is rooted in her Jewish heritage, social and political activism, and her feminist ideals. She influenced the Women’s Movement through both her writing and her unconventional life.