Cable Top

Cable Top

Ben Egerton

she asks you about lying what you think
of lying is lying ever the right thing
to do those aren’t her exact words you can’t recall
the exact words because the lying part
of you is on the defensive while she asks
you watch a bird caught
in the cable car terminus building —a sparrow
possibly something larger you always wish
you knew the bird names— hardwired for sunlight
it darts at the uppermost north-facing windows
& you hate & love
the architect for designing this attractive trap all air
& polish despite the cruelty
you’ve always had a soft spot for birds
in buildings feather ghosts
in the concrete machine
& you think this is a metaphor —the bird is you
programmed to slam against the glass
as you seek light ignorant of an easy out
of whatever elegant system
you’re caught in— consider she says
if true is only true with its counterweight
lie if true is only true
when you understand the lie until then
it’s a bird at the glass greedy for light
as a firstborn for his inheritance

---

Ben Egerton
Poet & Education Lecturer

Photography by Davide Gazzotti