raven

by Doug Pugh
The Write Idea
Second Place (tie), August 2020
Judged by Ron Singer


horn nibbed, auger and augury
a little black number
is its only dress

and more than one
in a gathering
is simply
murder


This is a poet’s poem: economy (23 words), sharp description (“horn nibbed”), an original conceit, the raven-as-vamp: “a little black number,” “simply murder”), even a bit of sound play (“auger and augury”). --Ron Singer