“Ode to A Magpie,” by Aubrey Steptoe
Aug 20th, 2021 | By DefenestrationA magpie on a slippery branch
In the cloying wind!
A gloomy October day…
And yellow leaves
Pale and wet against
Somewhat plagiarized black boughs
A magpie on a slippery branch
In the cloying wind!
A gloomy October day…
And yellow leaves
Pale and wet against
Somewhat plagiarized black boughs
First time I saw you, I was at the wheel
of a powerboat, bone-rattle slamming
over the roiling waves. I was decked out
in rubber suit, goggles, breathing
apparatus. The full man-of-action kit.
I was pumped up, ready to dive, emerge,
scramble over rocks, haul myself
through crevices and up gradients,
basically the whole Milk Tray scenario.
Let my grants be bountiful,
And my meal plan be plenty.
Let my boxed wine runneth over.
I have taken the credit
for the idea
you had
in the meeting
and which you
were probably
hoping
would get you promoted
Is this a fist I see which approaches my face
with steroid-assisted velocity?
Or is this a fist of the mind, an immaculate conception,
gestating in a beer-soaked brain?