Pigeons and Peregrines

The pigeon pecking at the baguette
keeps an eye
on the peregrine perched nearby.

The falcon, eating her meal,
does so in peace,
losing herself

in the pleasure of the moment,
like a wine-soaked Epicurean.
Isn’t it always so?

Parents have more illusions
about their kids
than their kids have about them.

Employers have more illusions
about their employees
than their employees have about them.

Masters have more illusions
about their slaves
than their slaves have about them.

And men have more illusions
about women
than women have about men.

The powerful can afford to be self-absorbed.
Those who lack power cannot.
They must be watchful and vigilant.

So the slave
comes to know her master—better,
perhaps, than he knows himself.

And yet the master
can’t even remember
her name.

—John Faithful Hamer, Social Distancing (2020)