Poems Are Never Abandoned, Only Published

I don't give up on poems and fool myself into believing that they are ever complete. I know they can always be better, even if I am unable to figure out how. I try to remain open to possibilities, at least.


Paul Valery insisted that "a poem is never finished, only abandoned."


Coincidentally, here are two versions of one of my (many) dead cat poems.
This one first appeared in the May 2004 issue of Red River Review.


The Sacrifice

A new housing development has replaced
another patch of uselessly
pristine desert, displacing an unfortunate
generation of coyotes

Late one night, I saw
the evicted pack
roaming the neighborhood streets

Mistaking them for malnourished dogs
until I looked closer
as they tore into a neighbor's cat
who chose the wrong night to wander
onto a dark front lawn





It seemed like a finished poem and it very well could have been.
But I ended up stumbling onto an accidental Unsolved Mysteries style update.
At readings, I used to tell audiences about the follow-up after reading the poem. Eventually, I just decided to incorporate the new findings into the poem. Tidy and convenient.





Another Sacrifice



A new housing development has replaced
another patch of uselessly pristine desert
displacing an unfortunate generation of coyotes.

Late one night, we saw the evicted pack
roaming neighborhood streets.

Mistaking them for malnourished dogs
until we looked closer
as they tore into a neighbor’s cat
who chose the wrong night to wander
onto a dark front lawn.

Three years pass. We encounter
late one night between
grocery store aisles, the girl
who lived in that house.

She is surprised to finally learn the truth
about her cat’s mysterious disappearance
and she remembers old suspicions.
Suddenly realizing that she chose the wrong
reason to break up with her boyfriend,
three years ago.