Origins, Volume Eleven, No.1

Herewith, the latest selection from dusted-off published poetry and short fiction, circa 1970s vintage and beyond....

Bumper Crop

The highway stretches
a hot grey ribbon
frenzied traffic evaporating
over the horizon
while on either side
wide green spaces, trees
introduce the country
to the city beyond.

Nervously facing traffic the juvenile groundhog waits
mustering momentum for crossing.
If it manages one double lane
a boulevard will render rest
encouragement for the other half.

Does it know
that wild thing why it must
make that crossing?

Does it notice
far beyond on the other side
the activity there?
Crows, undertakers
carrion-eaters
zealously perform their function.

c. 1981 Rita Rosenfeld
published in Origins, March 1981