Title Too Long (that's crap!)

this book, about oppressive regimes, inspired a poem for me

"Reading Lolita in Tehran" in My Car Near the University

In a yard across the way,
A bird on a green branch
Turned its head, looking
For something at eye level,
Something equal in height.
A thousand leaves and blades
Trembled around it.

The breeze drifted through my window,
The warm, fecund air of the yard
Filling my car. Suddenly

It hopped down to an old
Stump slanting out of the ground,
Dove as though compelled, stood quite
Still, captivated,
looking out.

I struggled to keep my eyes open.
I know little of predators
And violence, what might threaten
a bird, cause it
To hold itself perfectly
Still against a breeze--

I have only this book,
And the sensation of a breeze
Dying in a car
My arm hung out the window
Grazing the large frame,
Eyes heavy in the stifling heat.