Peter Grandbois

To go anywhere one must first go back

The cat threads the wood
            at yard’s edge

Pale moon pinned to blue 
            bleeding the heaviness within

A cardinal fluttering
            beyond the window

Why won’t it settle on a branch
            or fly home?

Why wake instead of spinning
            again toward sleep?

At the foot of the garage stairs,
            the bird’s head

A tuft of feathers
            tickled with blood

Peter Grandbois is the author of fourteen books, the most recent of which is Domestic Bestiary. His plays have been performed in St. Louis, Columbus, Los Angeles, and New York. He is poetry editor at Boulevard and teaches at Denison University in Ohio. You can find him at www.petergrandbois.com.