shining raven
by Cheryl Cudmore
 

i took an icecream container
and an old toothbrush
went to the pump for water
and cleaned the birdshit
off your stone today
pulled weeds and clipped
the grass with scissors
planted geraniums and pansies
alyssum and sweet verbena
while the shining black raven
that bombed your stone
sat overhead cawing at me
on a twisted tree limb