In front of the gold-domed Capitol,
where legislators are in recess,
a car struck a turkey in the road.

Wild gobbler came from somewhere,
aimed somewhere else &
missed. This shouldn’t happen

on a route not tracing ley lines
land-birds walk. River to one side,
weary democracy on the other,

not much around for a fowl’s feast.
This bird wandered far
from its dream of America.

---

Ace Boggess is author of six books of poetry, most recently Escape Envy. His writing has appeared in Indiana Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Notre Dame Review, Hanging Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he writes, watches Criterion films, and tries to stay out of trouble. His forthcoming books include poetry collections, My Pandemic / Gratitude List from Mōtus Audāx Press and Tell Us How to Live from Fernwood Press, and his first short-story collection, Always One Mistake, from Running Wild Press.