Melanie Silgardo (b. 1956)
The Earthworm’s Story

I lost this last bit of shine
scraping along the way.
The crow pecked,
the ant bit,
and the gravel sneered underbelly.
The damp gone, the leaves fall
heavy as plates, and clatter.
Above the fly stalks the air.
It does not matter
if that’s your foot over me.

English