Dark star’s

collapse,

plummet

and crash.

Bones

broken,

protest

choked.

Wings tight-

folded,

neck arched

in sharp crescent;

plucked feathers

spread over green-

bladed grass.

Dark-bodied

constellation

pricks and studs

surrounding

trees,

mourns

in raucous,

full-throated,

voice.

— C.Birde, 3/1