Virgil Suárez

Upon Hearing of Chaos Theory, Jesus Smiles

sets an army of fire ants

upon the trail of a garden snail

the ants want to make a meal

out of such a slow, meticulous

creature     a sparrow

mistakes the ant-speckled

snail for something tasty,

plucks it from among dry leaves,

shell, ants & all, carries it

to a nearby magnolia branch

pecks at it, fumbles it

when several ants scurry up

its beak & bite the bird

in one eye     the snail falls

back to earth & the impact

dislodges many of the ants

the snail coils into its shell,

sealing itself from the world

moments later, ant-free, it moves

on beyond this patch of grass, tree,

bird, whatever possibility

believing, if it could, in miracles