House Repair with Birdsong
So that everything in this moment bewilders—Larry Levis
That startled look of window frames emptied
of windows, walls stripped to expose wiring,
immigrants ripped from city streets.
Our carpenters call out to each other
in Spanish and English. But hammers
all speak the same language.
A thrush in its silo of backyard trees cocks
his head at the wreckage, and whistles.
Why so much cruelty, tra la?
Then it is winging away without stopping
to learn about borders from us.
Susan Cohen’s third collection is Democracy of Fire (Broadstone; 2022). Her poetry has
appeared in 32 Poems, Alaska Quarterly Review, New Ohio Review, Prairie Schooner, Rattle,
and Southern Review. Her honors include the Red Wheelbarrow Prize, Terrain Annual Poetry
Prize, and a Pushcart Special Mention. She lives in California.