Au Revoir Les Enfants

Wallace Barker

medivac helicopter chops across

the city greenbelt canyons searching

for some unlucky rock climber fallen

into a hell among oaks and cedars

i carry my soft cooler down to the

river that runs thru the canyon heart

i saw a bunny step into my path

and stand motionless watching me

there was no sound for a few beats

then he returned to the bushes and

i continued walking down the ridge

toward the icy stream frothing below

balanced my softpack of cold drinks on a rock

while i dipped my body into a calmer eddy

chopper circles overhead but i lose track

of its position in the sky and then the sound

of its blades also phases out of my consciousness

i was born from the ether and my perception is limited

clouds move across the face of the sun and

hot light dusts my shoulders above the waterline

hundreds of tiny frogs small as grasshoppers

burst from a grass bank and tumble to rushing current

Wallace Barker lives in Austin, Texas. He has been published in Back Patio Press, Misery Tourism and Expat Press. His debut poetry collection La Serenissima is available from Gob Pile Press. More of his work can be found at wallacebarker.com.