Sample text from New Bestiary

All that rage or roar with mouth
or tongue,
their brow and tail
show their temperament,
their fur and feathers
show their nature.
born from the dampness
of the ground, they swallow sand
and weight
themselves with gravel
they lift their eyes to the heavens
to see if the stars have arrived
they hold on by their claws
or their beak
or their mouth:
in mysterious ways they grow
they know how to make day
and night the same

almost pleasing faces
strange restless gestures
they are not difficult to catch
but difficult to keep alive
they close their dwellings with
thorn twigs, they shape their cubs
with their mouth
at night they keep careful watch
dirt on their bellies
a stick in their teeth
they never run in a straight line
if there is cause for alarm,
they call out
they will run in swift turns and circuits,
they comfort themselves and sing
sweetly

they will deprive a man of his voice
they will lose their wild nature
all species are born twice
(or so it seems to me)
stone in their eye, stone under
their tongue
they hang from branches
and cling together
I have seen them myself many times
one foot ready to seize, the other
closed and peaceful
but you can think what you
like of this story
for anything is called slippery
which slips away when you hold it.