Four Black Cats

Elijah Kubicek

Four black cats sit in the floodlight across the drive

And a single firefly flashes twice

Stars swim above like geese in a green canal

Trained to a line of dots and dashes

Imagine, stubbornly, the wind is speaking

But you cannot hear what it says

Listen to the quiet thump

That bids me say: I am who I am, not who I’m not

I have never been anywhere except here

And God is inaudible to those with no patience for the night