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Eat

Joy Harjo

The New Yorker; Limón, Ada. You Are Here

Grasshoppers devoured the sunflowers
Petal by petal to raggedy yellow flags
Squash blossoms of small suns blessed
By dew drops flared beauty in the morning
Until an army of squash bugs landed
And ate, then dragged their bellies
From the carnage-
Field mice chewed their way
Into the house. They eat anything
Sweet and leave their pebbled shit
In staggered lines to the closet door-
Hungry tree frogs clung to the screen
Their curled toungyes catch anything
With wings driven to the light-
We found a snake hidden on the porch,
There were rumors in the yard
Of fat mice frolicking here.
The night is swallowing
Daylight.

We sit down to eat.