Zoraida “Ziggy” Pastor    Miami        (LD)
Be Like Mary Oliver 

In the early morning,

before the ibis shakes herself from her sleep
in the trees,
before the sun wakes up. 
You can see her:
Square jaw, thick glasses,
nicotine-stained skin,
 
walking this forest,
always with a pencil in hand,

a cigarette on her lips,


her notebook abuzz

with her words.

Her coat tattered by branches of
so many trees.

She follows a snail then climbs a tree.


She sees two hummingbirds
 
talking to each other,

listening to each other’s song.


One flies away.

The tree shudders alive

with its colors.


She climbs down,

heads to the marsh,

to find mussels

sleeping on the side of a
barnacle.


She thanks the mussel for its life,

that she now has breakfast.

She returns home.

Cleans and prepares the mussels.
She eats and begins to type.

Her white page waiting all morning.
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