Berna Özlem Özcan, Vanishing Garden
Sudden-Small
Jeff Burt
Ravens quarry-quarreled
as chickadees beak-bit their retreat,
not as the crow flies
but zigzag, sky-awkward,
high and hurried,
till the mob broke back
to nest and nurture, quiet,
quick-eggs safe.
Open-jawed, mute
the chickadees perched
in wonder-wish fulfilled
of vigilant un-flagging friends
in their flock that flushed
their tormenter, their tyrant,
the rook that flew till the horizon
ran out and sudden-small shrank
from the eye’s importance.
Jeff Burt
Ravens quarry-quarreled
as chickadees beak-bit their retreat,
not as the crow flies
but zigzag, sky-awkward,
high and hurried,
till the mob broke back
to nest and nurture, quiet,
quick-eggs safe.
Open-jawed, mute
the chickadees perched
in wonder-wish fulfilled
of vigilant un-flagging friends
in their flock that flushed
their tormenter, their tyrant,
the rook that flew till the horizon
ran out and sudden-small shrank
from the eye’s importance.