what flits
through the skull
of the starving deer
staggering
out of the cedars
onto the frozen lake
legs buckling
downwind of death
nostrils crusted with ice
breath in heaves
does the eye of the deer
see
the beak of the raven
as it’s pecked
from the socket and swallowed
does the ear of the deer
hear
the raven’s call
for the wolf
to tear open the throat
what leaps
when the belly’s ripped
into the ethereal forest
what exhalation
above the din
from the rib cage perch
what story now on the wind
and
what will flit
through my skull
when the ravens descend
what will rise
besides the steam
when my guts
are dragged out across the snow
Rae Crossman
Scored for soprano voice and Bohlen-Pierce soprano clarinets by Owen Bloomfield