-the hoppa'grassa'-

1.

To stalk grasshoppers, the small-game hunter

departs the first floor tenement

through the creaking screen door of the kitchen

moving toward the backyard then into the deep
meadow grass surrounding the vegetable garden;

his weapon of choice, an empty jar reserved for preserves

of one kind or another, twisted free of its once faultless lid

now punctured with air-holes delivered by a hammered

six-penny nail.

The small-game hunter stalks his prey on the fertile ground

where hornworms pant for tomatoes, approaching with the stealth

of a lioness eyeing her prey on the great savanna.

He’s a patient hunter, but fast-at-hand scooping the grasshopper

into the jar, closing the lid with a quick half-turn at its flights.

But one grasshopper is never enough and when the count has reached

the limit of his interest, he'll screw the tin lid down and the hunt is done.

2.
From the strength of her kitchen window,
his young mother calls-out with authority.

It seems the small-game hunter

has left the screen door open and the flies are coming in.

Quequechan / 1952