C. J. Sage The 2River View, 4.4 (Summer 2000)

Valediction of Birds

Without seams, the take-off, then the sleep,
dreams of birds come and go; huge small birds,
huge birds holding small birds in the belly
arrow themselves—deep gray lines. A target
catches all the beaks, there's a choir
of low-slung moans, a jab rustles the body,
enters the gut, and the stiff wings begin
their fray through the fast fall, breaking
limbs away. It all floats southward,
the claws open, empty; speed passes through
like bullets, and leaves this hum behind.

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2River All is well.