ethical eggs & other myths

for Danny

as troubles hatch
amid the wild squawking & clucking of the world
the sky is assuredly falling

& it looks for certain
that most of us have lost our ability to fly
despite having bones as light as wind

although we may peep & preen like new-born chicks
scales & claws will eventually take over
ensuring our bodies never catch up with our heads

& we may never stop
piling our hopes in a single basket
or counting dreams before they’re hatched

for it’s trickery that fills the nesting box
while mothers mourn their stolen eggs
& we destroy the near-by with beady-eyed determination

for we all carry traces of the forest
as we scratch in the dirt
& find our way home

where broody for cracked seeds of past & future
we hide from Fox & seek out Fire
hoping to simmer tough old hearts tender once again

Catherine Walker

Catherine Walker is an instructional designer, educator and writer/editor living on the South Shore of Mi 'kma'ki (Nova Scotia). This past year she has been reading and writing poetry with Ben Gallagher and friends at the local library most Sunday afternoons.