Trey Moody

PARABLE

The girl thinks of the cormorant, and the boy thinks
of the cormorant fisherman. The candy the girl

hands the boy is sweet, distilled with darkness.

The moon thinks of the cormorant, and the cloud
thinks of the cormorant fisherman. The moon complains

to the cloud about being drowned out by fire.

The tree thinks of the cormorant, and the rock thinks
of the cormorant fisherman. The leaves the tree

forgets on the rock look like little doorways lit.

The boat thinks of the cormorant, and the river
thinks of the cormorant fisherman. The boat lies

(the river is not handsome) gliding heavy from grief.

The fish thinks of the cormorant, and the rope thinks
of the cormorant fisherman. The strength the fish

feels in the rope is mirrored in the evening of the bird’s throat.

The girl thinks of the cormorant, and the boy thinks
of the cormorant fisherman. The candy the girl

hands the boy is sweet, distilled with darkness.

TREY MOODY was born in San Antonio, Texas. His first book, Thought That Nature (Sarabande, 2014), won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry. More recent poems have appeared in The Believer, Conduit, and New England Review. He teaches at Creighton University, and lives with his daughter in Omaha, Nebraska.