A History of the United States of America
Los Gatos, CA
Several days ago I walked by vultures
on the neighbor’s grass. One standing
sentry high above in the thin branches
of winter’s skinned tree. One eating
a dead mouse on the lawn. A day later,
it was there again — this time having dragged
the corpse halfway into the neighbor’s driveway.
I saw the mouse’s spine:
red and curved against the ground, glowing
pale in blue December. I saw its head, still
intact. I had to look away.
Esther Sun is a Chinese-American writer from the Silicon Valley in Northern California. A 2020 American Voices nominee, she has been recognized for her writing by the National YoungArts Foundation, Bennington College, and the Alliance for Young Writers and Artists. Esther’s poems are forthcoming from or have appeared in Up North Lit, Vagabond City, Anthropocene, and more.
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