mourning dove

today she finds the feather on her driveway
dark and grey and translucent blue
floating down from a crystal clear sky
she twists the remnant of life in her hands
and she understands why the doves mourn, why
they release haunting calls from telephone wires
the world coats her fingers with death
and she learns to grieve when her cat
stumbles down the stairs on creaky joints
and her mother says with teary eyes
“i don’t know if he’ll survive tomorrow”
this is when she tastes death
when the stench stains her palms
when she looks in the mirror and sees
only her own bleak reflection staring back
the sky grows dark with thunderclouds
she gazes out the window as the raindrops patter
down from above and streak along the glass
she cups her hands to catch the flow
and drinks sips of the earth’s pain
it tastes like vinegar slipping down her throat