Chicken thief. You gut our white hen, eat choice pieces, leave her belly up for the owls and maggots. Emboldened, you sneak back a second night, climb the fence, find the coop locked. So you steal cat food, scavenge compost, sleep in the barn. Oblivious to the box trap, waiting.

Shirlee Jellum is a retired English teacher who publishes fiction, nonfiction and poetry, most recently in Persimmon Tree, Quarter(ly) Journal, WordPeace and several anthologies.