When it came time for the interview,
I put on a dark suit
and stuffed a little straw in my cuffs,
hoping they would think
I was a natural. They had left about forty crows
in the conference room, as a test.
I was ushered in.
My host said, “Do your thing!”
and stood back as I began to strut
and stamp my black boots and transform
the entire flock
into a group of close personal friends.
For a time it was convivial.
Later, when I began to insult them
with a particularly scathing
series of caws,
they had no choice but to cut both me
and my cornfield out of their lives forever.
“Intriguing technique,”
said a woman when I met with the hiring committee
later that afternoon.
I leaned back in my chair,
plucked a stem from my jacket,
and replied: “Wasn’t it Lincoln who said,
Do I not destroy my enemy
when I turn him into my friend?
I guess you could say
my approach is the opposite.”
There was a smattering of polite laughter.
But I could feel her
eyes picking through my dark
interior, like fingers
rummaging the dry straw.

 

 

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Michael Bazzett has authored five collections of poetry, including The Echo Chamber (Milkweed) and the forthcoming Cloudwatcher, winner of the Stern Prize (Copper Canyon). The New York Times named his verse translation of the creation epic of the Maya a best poetry book of 2018.

 

 

 

Photo by Tatiana Balletti on Unsplash