from Mist Nets
4. Droving to bananas Beryl-spangled Golden-naped Dogs guarding the pack against hubcap A butterfly house You say Parakeets flew over Silver-backed Saffron-crowned Focusing correct You say Life birds with Coca-Cola Blue-necked Palm Rock chiseling You say No stopping for ducks Sleeping to water Walking by river A roadside hawk You say I never got a good look The green hermit Pisco sours You say You just imagined it The water grooves You say To the mottle-cheeked Reed bundles under the cushions An ambient solitaire You say That’s the one you call blood-red? You say The last one was 873, female You say The culture of being loud 750 soles a month Hot spring steam
5. A line of light Mistaking endemic Mistaking falling leaves for birds 900 soles a month Gold a no-go Looking for river otters Refusing to haggle The Andes striped Votes mowed into mountains You say Anyplace people can do it, birds can do it You say The ground is so soft Stopping for a streak-fronted The cacti tangle an elegant nest Building when there’s money Yellow-flowered hillside You say High mountain desert and a little wetland You say Nobody wants to look at the bird I’m looking at? A harrowing dust cloud A what is it refrain Brick piles baking Archaeological zones Cloud stuff coming across the road Would have liked to stop for ruins You say Did we see this already? You say Puna grassland You say This will be the last pass You say Strong ladies Stalking the Andean ibis You say It says something with rocks Descent from high desert You say All those pink things are begonias Moths flocking the dining room You say Where’s the dodderall here? The dining room screened in You say It was the same one already seen You say Oven birds are you ready? You say I like all the frogs A huge moth distraction You say That was the distant one? You say That’s another E You say Could maybe those two jays hang out?
Stephanie Anderson is the author of In the Key of Those Who Can No Longer Organize Their Environments (Horse Less Press) and five chapbooks, including the forthcoming Sentence, Signal, Stain (Greying Ghost) and LIGHTBOX (The New Megaphone). She edits Projective Industries and currently lives in either Chicago or Tokyo. Find more at octoberinapril.com.