Warnings

Skiers skip going down the slope;
travelers postpone their plan;
as the weather man warns of the snowstorm.

Hostile warning: a chicken tells the cows
that the dog belittles them;

they stiffen and guard against the dog;
their invisible ears hear
what the physical ones don’t.

What should the dog do,
bite the chicken for slandering?
He or she is too gentle to do that;
waits for the slow cows to learn the truth,
believing the truth always come out.

Meanwhile, the dog endures his or her image dying
in the miasma;
even after the air clears by the sweet breeze,
the stench lingers like dross.

©Byung A. Fallgren