“Crazy Happenstance Gifts of the Sky” by Ronda Piszk Broatch

Crazy Happenstance Gifts of the Sky

I want to know just what makes the dead
so joyful. What falls from the beak, the bed

of the pickup truck on a midnight road, who
stashed the fawn deep in a hay bale?

I want a reckless careless blessing,
one with messy hair, and no artificial

highlights. Like how the crow, high wired,
hides in the sun, watching me plant

marigolds around an unknown poet’s
gravestone. I ask her,What final touch?

What is this work of mine? The crow’s reply,
here is an earring, here is a rusty hinge.

We were silent a long while, wondering,
what is this joy, anyway?

Ronda Piszk Broatch

Poet and photographer Ronda Piszk Broatch is the author of Lake of Fallen Constellations, (MoonPath Press, 2015). Broatch is the recipient of an Artist Trust GAP Grant, and her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart prize. Her journal publications include Blackbird, Diagram, Sycamore Review, Missouri Review, Palette Poetry, and Public Radio KUOW’s “All Things Considered,” among others.   

Headshot: Ronda Piszk Broatch

Photo Credit: Shayne Schultz