Debra Kaufman, “Burton and Crows”

Debra Kaufman
BURTON AND CROWS

When those feathered tricksters,
aware of their rough beauty,
called in their ragged voices
Watch us ascend,
Burton stood, steady
in the prairie wind,
feet planted in the corn-stubbled field,
and cawed right back:
he knew he’d soon enough
till and plant,
harvest and lie fallow,
so he laughed as they rose
pleased with themselves,
some part of him lifting
to the blue illusion.

Bio: Poet and playwright Debra Kaufman is the author of two full-length poetry collections—The Next Moment (Jacar 2010) and A Certain Light (Emrys 1996)—and three chapbooks—Family of Strangers, Still Life Burning, and Moon Mirror Whiskey Wind. Her poems have appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Spoon River Poetry Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Poetry East, and North Carolina Literary Review.