The Gray Rabbit
has made a hammock of the ground:
stretched out, lazy, in the patch of brown
where nothing grows. He knows
the meaning of relax, shows
the world he can’t be bothered
with worry. When one bright cardinal
trills “birdie, birdie, birdie,”
the rabbit isn’t alarmed
at all. He stretches further,
his fur body flat against the earth.
The dull backyard flames full
of comfort and color.
*
Professor of English at Lock Haven University, Marjorie Maddox has published 13 collections of poetry— including Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation, Begin with a Question (Paraclete 2022), and the ekphrastic collaboration with Karen Elias Heart Speaks, Is Spoken For (Shanti Arts 2022)—the story collection What She Was Saying (Fomite), four children’s/YA books. In the Museum of My Daughter’s Mind, based on her daughter’s paintings, is forthcoming in 2023 (Shanti Arts). Please see www.marjoriemaddox.com
