Ruth Gooley’s most recent poem to appear here was “Sea Dog” (February 2019).
Mockery
By Ruth Gooley
I mock the mockingbird’s call,
take on her drill,
double her chatter,
treble her trill,
blast out a whistle,
shriek like an owl,
rattle a passing cop,
thrust my beak in her face,
stake her perch as my own.
I win, she silences,
one last feeble croak
rising in our wake.