The grass crackled and frozen
looking like sand and salt
in the Egyptian desert,
the source of natron that
preserved the eviscerated
and brain-hollowed bodies
of dead pharaohs, still
draws down a gaggle
of Canada geese who must
remember the site and near
river of life much shorter
than the Nile but sustaining
enough even in the tired
and soiled days of February
for those beaks that peck
and webs that stride upon last
year’s vegetation that will
renew without a weighing
of heart against feather
by Anubis, the jackal-head,
so the big birds
don’t have to worry
their mortal souls.
About John Zedolik
For thirteen years, John Zedolik taught English and Latin in a private school. Eventually, he wrote a dissertation that focused on the pragmatic comedy of "The Canterbury Tales," thereby completing his Ph.D. in English. Currently, he is an adjunct instructor at a number of universities in Pittsburgh. He has published poems in such journals as Aries, The Bangalore Review (IND), Commonweal, Orbis (UK), Paperplates (CAN), Poem, Pulsar Poetry Webzine (UK), Poetry Salzburg Review (AUT), Third Wednesday, Transom, and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He also had a full-length collection, Salient Points and Sharp Angles, published in 2019. His iPhone continues to be his primary poetry notebook, and he hopes his use of technology in regard to this ancient art form remains fruitful.
