Talon
by Jim Davis



the boning knife in the partridge breast
the viper’s fang in the pastor’s hand
the gold hook for hummingbird earrings
the grip of grief braiding the inside of a body
the wrench to the head of a catfish
the filet blade spilling roe
the totem hung from a sunburnt neck
the tolls of bells echoing a valley
the sleet, the snow, the things that bury
the spade erect in frozen Minnesota
the buried thing
the key opening a tin of stewed tomatoes
the squeezing of wheezes from a field mouse
the gray sky sharpens itself on naked branches





Illya's Honey Literary Journal

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