Caught in a farmer’s fence,
the wallaby fights the wire,
struggles and relents.
Trying to get free,
he’s wound in the ligature
more desperately
until he hangs in air,
martyred by a change
of atmosphere
that makes no sense,
foreclosing range
for recompense.
David Mason‘s latest book is News from the Village: Aegean Friends (Red Hen Press).
This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 42 Number 3, on page 32
Copyright © 2023 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com
https://newcriterion.com/article/paddock-edge/