Tatum Taylor Chaubal

Prairie Dog Town

Lord give me a sewn spine and a name
worth dropping if I’m asking too much
let me live in a prairie dog town in a hive
of waxy hexagons I will busy myself

accordingly this city was not built for me
every corridor a cul-de-sac hydrangeas
heaving upon every yard but mine
I’m asking too much when I leave let me

fix my address in the underground
a burrow for my coterie I can see it now
roots and dust chintz and lamplight
hear the neighbours chatter through the dirt

fix my address in the honeycomb
walls stashed with pollen I’ll sweep cells
sweet-gild the halls until it’s my turn
to sip buttercups for now I’m going

nowhere in this city rail crossings
lift bridges every corner made for waiting
please lord of prairie dogs and honeybees
if I can’t find it put me in my place