Litany for the Animals Who Run from Me

Written by Hieu Minh Nguyen

Anything can be a bird if you’re not careful. 

I should say something nice about the weather.

I should be in awe of the living, but the world dulls

when I step into it. The squirrels scatter, the branches

lift. Sure, I’ve hurt the ones I’ve loved

by not paying attention. Not alone—never alone

is a lesson I need to understand. It was you who said that. 

It’s still you. You who says, Look! You who points

to the sky. You who tilts my chin toward the heron,

who cups the minnow in your hands,

who spots the deer miles ahead, who dulls 

the world with your absence. You who says, Look!

& when I look, you are gone, replaced

by the whitetail’s hind legs, fading into the bush.