Curtis Ackie

Augury

Determined to capture

the cunning crook's continued climb

along the crippled canvas

we withdraw our hands,

no longer clasping

spinning keys

held over peeling scripture,

and ship a raging shawl.

Sui generis

Beyond the stone doorway,

buried beneath black apparatus,

white hooks

and squared circles,

I spied a feathery flurry

There it stood

lanky and lofty,

contemptible

in its looming emptiness;

a sloppy doll concealed behind

its overgrown twin stilts

And now I cannot hide my pride

at the show of forthright fortitude

which followed.

Curtis Ackie is a novelist, short-story writer, and poet, born in London, UK. He is currently based in Zagreb, Croatia.