The starling puts on his boxing gloves
and raises his wings in expectation
of getting into the ring
with the sharp-nosed woodpecker
who claims the suet is his
and his alone.
Meanwhile the doves
waddle away like chickens
but insist it’s a philosophical
position, not cowardice
that makes them object
to the violence
about to take place.
The squirrels are on the fence.
Maybe they’ll watch.
maybe they won’t.
They like to stay
middle of the road
and tend to vote
for the incumbent.
Victoria Woolf Bailey’s work has appeared in a number of publications including: The Heartland Review, Kudzu, Alchemy Spoon and the Tipton Poetry Journal. Her first full-length collection Cannibalism and the Copenhagen Interpretation: a Love Story was published by Finishing Line Press in March 2022.
