This is Michel Carey for Voices from the Prairie a weekly sampling from the rich soil of Iowa’s literary tradition. Today’s poem is "Interlopers" by Karen Jobst from Urbandale, Iowa. From this delicate and magical poem we learn that Urbandale is not urban enough to keep nature out, or to keep us self-preoccupied humans from being spied on and watched over by beings far different than our own.

6 a.m.
and two deer abandon the woods,
follow along the path of the creek
to this suburban sidewalk,
not far from where four lanes
of traffic can be as lethal as a bullet,
they pause,
their heads turn
toward that gamble of humanity,
the language between them
simple as vapor,
they spring across, luck intact,
presence pending.

"Interlopers" by Karen Jobst. This reading was its first publication.

For Voices from the Prairie and Humanities Iowa, this is Michael Carey hoping you continue to hear the music blooming all around you.

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