Mourning Doves

lord god

why have we

forsaken thee

your will

untwines the meadows

your breath

unspools creation

and still

the whisper

of your voice

grows faint

the light at

the end of

our dominion

grows dim

                  *

everywhere evil and

abomination

diesel smoke

from rusted engines

soot billowing

from exploding munitions

colors the air

ladens the wind

                  *

it is as if we were

these mourning doves

blinded by a few seeds

scattered as an afterthought

on the manicured walk

the last to

fly when the surprise

of the rattling

gardener's cart startles

smaller birds to flight

first to be dismembered

by the beaks and claws of hawks

                  *

beneath the

floating pyramid and

haunting eye

satan manifest

has signed

the dollar bill of

our attainder

in washington

square park

another

gunshot rings

the pigeons

on trashing wings

in unison flush up

a few feet into the sky

before falling back

to ground to peck at scraps