Why the swan?

Why the swan

 

Because the swan floats

up close.

 

Because the swan has no life

off past the cut-off.

 

Because the swan is a knife

turned in on itself.

 

Because the swan erases

unwhite surfaces.

 

Because the swan is a sign of

what to expect, like a specked cough.

 

Because the swan isn’t

drawn like an ear. It listens

 

but it won’t hear, won’t look

up in time. It’s as if it’s stuck.

 

Because the air shushes sirens,

because the canal divulges silence,

 

because the curves have been stolen

from what’s left of the swan,

 

which is its song, of course –

the long stretch between locks

 

by Andrew Lambeth

Done