Statistics
Leonore Hildebrandt

Statistics

She found them on the tidal river not far from the house—
Winchester cartridge, duck and pheasant load,
and the extra-light Michelob, its metallic hues gauzed in mud.

In the yards scattered along her road, poverty is laid out
casually—yesterday’s engines, a trailer’s soggy remains.
Odd goods and small cash travel hand to hand.

Census workers muddle through—
what is a residence, a garden shack, a bathroom?
(Her wooden throne, screened in, balances above a composting bin.)

She needn’t be afraid for lack of walls.
Hunters keep their eyes on dwindling flocks.
Black ducks drift in fog.

Leonore Hildebrandt

is the author of the poetry collections Where You Happen to Be, The Work at Hand, and The Next Unknown. Her poems and translations have appeared in Cimarron Review, The Fiddlehead, Harpur Palate, and other journals. She has received fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation, and the Maine Arts Commission. She teaches writing at the University of Maine and serves on the editorial board of the Beloit Poetry Journal.