John Ellison Davies - In The Gardens

In The Gardens

he sees all

the dull statue
splashed green
adored by the fountain

the young couple
eating chicken, the roaming
delighted licking dog

and the lonely man
with his loaf of bread
pigeons' claws on his wrist
like a woman's fingernails
himself a scavenger poisoned
by tossed crumbs of laughter

seeing all,
a passionate sparrow
crowns himself emperor


- John Ellison Davies