"In the Middle of It" by Nathaniel Cairney

In the Middle of It

White irises, troubled sky, and I wonder
what’s become of the pine marten

that raided the robin’s nest two nights ago.
A storm is coming. It seems like

everyone is at the hospital these days.
A thwap sounds outside

the kitchen window, a robin smashing
a snail against flagstones.

A fuzzy bee lands on an iris, a stain
on a nurse’s uniform. The snail

is dead, swallowed by the robin. My
children's voices drift downstairs.

The clink of my fingernail against metal.
I finish boiling the last of the eggs

for tomorrow’s lunches. I won't be here
to prepare them in the morning.

Nathaniel Cairney

Nathaniel Cairney is an American poet and novelist who lives in Belgium. His chapbook Singing Dangerously of Sinking was a finalist for the 2021 Saguaro Prize in Poetry, and his poems have been published in The Cardiff Review, Midwest Review, Broad River Review and others.

Headshot: T. Cairney

Photo Credit: Staff