BRENDAN SHERRY

PRATT AND ASHLAND

To what degree
were their minds raised
outside the tackle
of royalty

and how did the riddle go
that a dog could not put
a deep enough hole
in the earth
so he apologized into it

and then reeds grew
out of the hole
and they whispered
to everybody

these casual
tossed-off apologies
with teeth
you needed gloves
to dispose of