Words, wild and domestic
make me their natural habitat,

a ruby throated hummingbird
and Grandma's bleating goat,
its newest kid born at midnight,

and a black rabbit named George,
who walked on a leash, and oh,

our geese who daily assaulted
my mother, a woman with secrets.
We should have heeded those birds.

On safari in my mind, I track
elephants, lions, and great apes,
but need no native guards.

These wild and household things
devolve to words and I am
grateful for their presence.