Signs

Signs* Lucille Clifton when the birds begin to walkwhen the crows in their silk tuxedosstand in the road and watchas oncoming traffic swerves to avoidthe valley of dead thingswhen the geese reject the skyand sit on the apron of highway 95one wing pointing north the other southand what does it mean this morningwhen a man runs wild eyed from his carshirtless and shoeless his palms spread wideinto the jungle of traffic into a worldgone awry the birds beginning to walkthe man almost naked almost cawingalmost lifting straining to fly Footnotes * "signs" was published in Blessing the Boats (Rochester, NY: BOA, 2000). Copyright © 2010 Lucille Clifton Reprinted with permission from Alexia Clifton

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