ode to the humble turkey vulture

and the gods created them dark, bald, 
and brooding, not exactly the life of the party, 
more like the cleanup crew, not averse to 
leftovers, picking bones clean, saving the 
planet from methane gas, one carcass of 
rotting flesh at a time, the gentlest of 
creatures who wouldn’t, couldn’t kill a fly, 
totally misunderstood, a six foot wing 
span that blocks the sun as it swoops
overhead, darkening the sky, causing one 
to wonder if they might be descended
from dragons, or demons…looming from 
the corner of the room watching, waiting, 
at the ready to clean the refuse left 
behind by privileged, out of touch souls 
who wouldn’t be caught dead doing what 
they do, ironically, their inevitable death 
is exactly what these dark angels are 
watching, waiting for… despise them at 
you own peril for they will have the last 
laugh, happily disemboweling you simply because it’s their job to clean up the world’s
mess, and because the gods created them dark

~kat

Na|GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 20 prompt: For today, try writing your own poem that uses an animal that shows up in myths and legends as a metaphor for some aspect of a contemporary person’s life. Include one spoken phrase.

Today’s Glimmer…my wife is determined to create a butterfly/bird garden for me…because she knows how much I love them. It’s going to be beautiful! It IS beautiful.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat ✨✨✨🪴💚🪴✨✨✨