to me a superb short story
is easy brush-stroke entertainment
simple players and a quick-smile conclusion
with well-written novels
there’s the wayward feet of diverse characters
in a marathon crossing the finish line together
a good poem uses one hand to push
aside some branches as the other removes
an egg from a hidden nest
if it is really good at the end the reader will
hold it up watch it hatch and feel
a flutter of feathers somewhere inside