by Tom Laichas
No other creature
inks its skin
with song lyrics
or studies stars.
Of all species
ours alone eats fresh-
baked bread with jam
and wears cologne.
None have words
for Monday or
three-day weekend.
From a tree, a bird
whistles. Wingless
I whistle back.
Tom Laichas is author of three books of poetry, most recently Three Hundred Streets of Venice California (FutureCycle Press, 2023). His latest work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Los Angeles Times, Plume, The Moth (Ireland), the Irish Times, BarBar, and elsewhere. He lives in Venice, California.
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