Poems by Nicole Basta

Bison

by Nicole Basta

Nicole lives on Lake Cayuga near Ithaca, New York.

the stars flinch a little at their empty black eyes
set against the sandcastle backdrop of the Badlands

there are ribbons of oranges and yellows
through the arid, splintered pale pink ground
seemingly cracked from the weight of their incredible mass

the bison will not budge
in a stand-off with my car
i understand this was their path
before we came and paved it

after beeping, driving and reversing
i put the car in park
and sit nearly as still
as the black pool of understanding
in their eyes