lessons_from_tufted_titmouse
tender_square
turn
yourself
into
an
agent
of
dusk
,
woodland-edger. canopies
of
sugar
maple
shake
their
veins
and
venules
to
circulate
the
honey
of
your
song
against
the
atmosphere
—don’t diminish
your
voice
.
mercury
’s magnetism
made
your
plumage
silver
,
your
beaded
eyes
hematite
and
probing.
when
life
gives
you
peanuts
, bust
your
beak
like
a
pickaxe
on
the
fibers
of
the
shell
,
the
way
you
did
when
you
emerged
from
the
egg
your
mother
birthed,
breaking
in
instead
of
busting
out
.
220218
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from