<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">Turkeys</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div>
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="">
<tbody class="">
<tr class="">
<td valign="top" style="width: 380.0px" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">Sometimes we saw shadows of gods</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">in the trees; silenced, we went on.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">Sometimes the dog would bound off</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">over the snow, into the forest.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">Sometimes a tree had twenty</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">or more black turkeys in it, each</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">seeming the size of a small black bear.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">We remember them for their care</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">for their kind ever since we watched the big hen</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">in the very top of the tree shaking</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">load after load of apples down to the flock.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">Sometimes I felt I would never</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">come out of the woods, I thought</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">its deeper darkness might absorb me</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">or feed me to the black turkeys</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">and I would cry out for the dog</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);" class="">and the dog would not answer.</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Galway Kinnell</div></div></body></html>