hold the photograph in my mind

gauzy severity
muted harshness to lost effect
offered as proof of life
apart

If I
turn myself to details

utility pole
fencing
curve of spoked water wheel
posted sign
angled landscape
snow

from lower left a pipe juts
indicating right-hand sky
and the loose-winged heft
of heavy flight

three more birds stand along the pipe
indeterminate in owned darkness
text illegible

If I
reduce to wanting

tent poles await
colorful draped canvas
ferris wheel assembled
partially
grandstand

the main attraction
chickens … no, vultures …
no …
chickens, trained amusement
stand atop cannon’s length
judging practice fire
as awkward airborne brethren
flaps for purchase
in velocity

I squint to read the sign
details of circus come to town
come away with the jolting truth
of no trespass

too late