Reading Entrails

As the city kick-starts its nerves
Caffeine and nicotine
Steeling itself for another day
I stroll through a local
Wildlife sanctuary

Politely ignore
The human architecture
Synthetic ecosystem
And distant
Rigid silhouettes
Intimidating the tree line

Instead
Enjoy the spectacle
Of a red-winged blackbird
Dive bombing a beaver
During its morning swim

With an echoing slap of tail
The hounded rodent
Retreats beneath the water

No sooner does the smile
Touch my lips
Before I spot a sleek sausage
With shiny wet fur
And sinister smirk
On the pond's grassy bank

With surprising speed
For three inch legs
The mink
Body rippling in little brown waves
Charges a flock of Canadian Geese

The birds momentarily forget
About their wings and
Surly disposition
Stumbling like obese drunks
In every direction

Lurching into the air
The flock attempts
To regain its dignity
In a cacophony of angry honks

Even within man's playground
Even in my diluted Cherokee blood
In the shadow of dark towers
I feel the earth tremor

Today is a day to war with devils