I WANT TO KNOW THE CHICKEN’S NAME

by Kira Stevens

and ask it about its childhood.

I also want to ask if it knows

what a road is. If it ever actually

knows where it’s going. Or why

anybody happens to go anywhere.

Sometimes a body loses its head

and gets hit by a car. At the hospital,

the family cries why?? why did you cross

the road, chicken?? why!! and I can see it

in his little chicken eyes,

he has no idea what’s going on.

Kira Stevens is a poet and visual artist originally from Delaware, and currently based in Brooklyn. She has an MFA in Creative Writing Poetry from The New School and a BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland. Her chapbook, Highly Noted and other poems was published by Lillet Press in 2021. More of her work can be found on Instagram @words4food and on Twitter @kirawritespoems.