2014 Salveson Prize in Poetry
I saw five wild
turkeys in a frozen field,
scratching icy clods of dirt,
meandering through broken
stalks of last season’s corn. Unaware
of our passing, unperturbed
by the highway
or us, riding in silence.
The only sound between us
the rhythm of the tires on the road.
You, driving stiff and silent. Your face
hard as the unyielding ground
they just kept scratching. Me,
forehead against frigid window,
looking out, wishing I could join them,
trade our icy silence for
the warmth of winter sun
on frozen clods and broken stalks.
Waldorf Literary Review 