Near Walden Pond Poem by Martin A. Ramos

A poet lurked for poems
in the woods near Walden Pond.
She surveyed the ground once trod
by Walden himself, and secured her traps
-imagery, metaphor, stream of consciousness-
in the most pristine places.
She recited Italian sonnets
reverently while she waited. In all
probability the poet would soon recover
a unique specimen, since she had left
absolutely nothing to chance.

Soon she captured an exotic prize.
Its plumage was peacock pretty,
luscious dark meat on the bones,
a crested, iridescent head
similar to that of a mythical beast's.
So why did she release her prey
and reset her traps? Was this poet crazy?
Not by a hair's breath.

She often mistrusted poems
that looked like trophies,
and so discarded them and tried again.